Operation Out
by LisaAbiona15
Summary: AU after 1x02: when Henry does not show up in Regina's office, a new plan is needed. A new plan that leads to a burgeoning friendship with Emma Swan and the relationship with her son improving. However, it also indirectly leads to the unravelling of her curse and a new operation: operation out. Will son and mother manage to break the curse together?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own OUAT. Don't let me rewatch OUAT or you get a 'what if Henry did not show up when Regina was trying to make him lose faith in Emma' kind of au.**

It had all been rather simple. Get the fool to come to her office, make her believe Regina was genuinely apologetic, let her talk (she was bound to say something wrong eventually) and just wait for henry to hear his 'saviour' say something along the lines of 'he is insane' , have Henry's faith in this Emma Swan crushed. There. A simple plan really, one that couldn't go wrong. She just knew the Swan woman was bound to say something wrong and if she defied all the rules logic dictated, Regina would be able to manipulate her into saying something surely. So really, simple and fool proof.

Except for the one thing she had not taken into consideration: Henry recently found rebellious nature.

Emma Swan was still talking and usually, Regina's plan would have gone perfectly. She had actually heard the words 'troubled' and 'crazy' leave the infuriating woman's mouth. She was convinced it would have been enough to make sure Henry never trusted or like his so-called birthmother again, but-

He had apparently decided he didn't need to show up. Oddly enough, the first she felt was a bit of relief (she had, in fact, thought about how crushed Henry would be but had ultimately decided that he was better off feeling crushed – surely, he would get over it- then actually getting attached and then being disappointed as Emma Swan surely failed in all ways possible) but that was quickly replaced by almost equal measures of anger and concern.

 _So now he favours doing homework to spending time with me_ She looked at the woman sitting across from her, still prattling on about 'fairy tale illusions, needing him to be okay', and had to temper down on the need to scowl and possibly strangle her.

Regina quickly formulated a new plan. It had not been her intention to ever be friendly with this intruder ( what if she took it as invitation to stay?) but she might be able to use this to her advantage. After all, if she couldn't connect to Henry but – no matter how humiliating and unfair I was- this woman could. Perhaps she could use her.

" I would never call my son insane, miss Swan- " _especially not because he is right, but you do not need to know that, bumbling buffoon_ . " But I am concerned about his recent behaviour"

It was like pulling teeth, but she admitted " I am quite at a loss" . Regina hated admitting weakness, but she just knew this woman would be lured into a false sense of security if Regina showed a 'vulnerable side'.

Like expected, this woman looks a combination of uncomfortable and empathic. " I can only imagine- " _no really can't, you have no idea_ " what it is like. I just- I don't think the therapy is helping"

" Oh, because you are a verified psychiatrist who deals with such cases constantly "She says in a snide tone before she can stop herself. All she want to do is drive this woman out of town. In the old world, she would have probably already ripped her heart out. Playing nice is excruciating.

Hazel eyes darken with anger. " What is your problem, lady- I am just trying- ".

" You have to see this from my side, miss Swan. Henry is going through a difficult time, I am doing everything in my power to aid him and then suddenly a _stranger_ comes to my town and presumes to have some sort of claim, some right to my son".

For a moment, the swan woman seems ready to fight- her eyes ablaze, her jaw tightening, her mouth opening like she is going to yell- but then something makes her deflate.

" I don't think I have any right- I know he is your son" for the first time since they have met, the woman sounds almost meek. Regina is not good at emphasizing – especially not with rude women trying to take away her son- but she is very good at spotting weaknesses, or cracks in someone's armour. So she immediately notes the pain (and is that regret?) and files it away for later.

" Exactly. So you might comprehend, miss Swan, that your presence here certainly complicates things".

" Listen, I might not have raised him or anything, but I have given birth to him. I cannot just walk away now that I have actually met him- now that I know he isn't happy".

"And whose fault do you presume that to be" Regina asks, ready to destroy this woman if she even thinks of being as self-righteous as to blame Regina, when it is her who has driven Henry farther away than ever-

" I don't know. I don't- listen, what made the kid like this? I mean, when did the issues start".

Regina is caught off guard, enough to automatically reply " I suppose when he discovered that he was adopted".

Perhaps miss Swan isn't a _complete_ fool (though she certainly is one, if she thinks coming between Regina and the only person she cares about is a good idea), because she immediately states. "You did not tell him, he found out somehow" It should be a question, but it is not.

 _Why am I still talking to this person?_ Because really, Regina is actually starting to feel vulnerable. She doesn't like sharing parts of herself and almost never does. Henry is the only exception- and even he hasn't seen every part of her.

Still, she finds herself admitting " At first, he would not even tell me why he was being so.. distant. The behaviour worsened to the point that I felt it was in Henry's best interest to talk to doctor Hopper. I eventually discovered that the root of the issue was that Henry knew he was adopted" She doesn't admitted that Henry never told her, but that she threatened to 'make sure you have to eat out of bins the rest of your life' if Hopper did not tell her what was going on.

" So you discovered he was mad about the adoption thing- " _the adopti- Is this honestly the woman that bore my smart son?_ " and then what?".

" Miss Swan..".

" I am just trying to figure out what is going on here – what happened that he read that book and immediately decided this town was cursed and everyone was a fairy tale character".

" He has always had a rather active imagination" Regina thinks of four-year-old Henry who loved drawing and would run to her office, shouting ' momma! Look what I made" and how he grinned so widely as he showed her whatever he had thought off this time.

" His shrink said it was his way to communicate".

"Communicate what? That I am _evil_ "Regina snaps.

The nuisance on her couch raises her hands defensively. " Lady, I am not saying that. Although the things you have done to me really don't speak in your favour".

Regina stands. "I think this conversation is over, miss Swan. And if you care for Henry the way you claim you do, then you will leave this town and not complicate matters further". Playing nice with this woman is just impossible. Nearly everything about her infuriates Regina.

Regina is itching to put an end to this conversation so she can get Henry , but this woman really cannot take a hint. She presses into Regina's personal space. " I am not abandoning my kid ".

Regina wants to laugh and say " you already did it once, why should I believe you won't do it again?". Instead , she smiles and leans in. " Miss Swan. You said it yourself" you are not a mother". I have no idea _what_ you are, but I do know that Henry needs stability and discipline and someone responsibilities. He needs the exact opposite of you, he needs his mother".

She can see a flicker of doubt in those hazel eyes, but there is more anger. " He also needs someone who just listens to him instead of immediately puts him into therapy!".

" I can see that my apology was a waste of time and effort. Please let yourself out, I am going to get my son?".

" Get Henry?".

"Yes, miss Swan. I did not intend to spend this much time talking to you , so I am late with making dinner".

She tries to march away from this woman that makes her blood boil and misses the days where she could control people more effectively, but is halted when a hand grabs her bicep. She gives the hand on her arm an incredulous look, then glares at the woman it belongs to.

" Wait. I know that we don't exactly agree, but we both want him to be happy, right".

" Miss Swan, you have wasted quite enough of- ".

" Wouldn't it be better if we worked together? ".

She finally releases her grip on Regina's arm. " I am not planning to stay. I just want to know he is happy and _then_ I will leave".

" You keep changing the story, dear. First it is 'none of your business' and you will drive back to whatever place you crawled out from. Then you will only stay for a week in that shabby inn. And now this".

She presses even closer . " What is it going to be next?".

She pulls back a little. " This is exactly why you are bad for Henry. What if you form a bond with my son and then suddenly decide it is time to leave? ".

"I wouldn't do that to him".

" I do not wish you to stay, miss Swan, I think you are a bad role model for Henry. You encourage him to skip school, enforces his belief that I am evil and stimulates his rebellious behaviour'.

" I am –".

" But Henry wants you here. I have no idea what he sees in you that makes him think – " she normally would hide the pain in her voice, but it seems that such emotions spook miss Swan. " you are fit to be his mother, but he does. He doesn't believe you will leave, that you will break his heart. Or fail in any other way"

" The last thing I want is to hurt him"

" Which is why you should leave before you encourage his notions even more , _before_ he gets too attached to you".

" And you don't think me leaving now will hurt him"

" He will be far more hurt if you would leave after pretending to believe in him".

" Or he might stop believing himself after I have stayed for a while and nothing happens".

 _Or all my hard work might be destroyed._ " You will still be in his life – even though you have no rights whatsoever- and you will make my son pull away even more"

" Or he might actually be grateful. You do realize that anything you've done since I came here only strengthens his belief? If you had not gone after me the way you h-"

" I really am not interested in being lectured, miss Swan, and especially not by the woman that encourages the worst of my son's behaviour".

" I am just saying that actually being friendly to me might change Henry's perspective of you".

 _That is nothing I haven't though off yet, you idiot. I just wonder whether Henry will ever see me as anything but a villain with his overstepping birthmother here_ " Or it might just make it easier for you to take him from me".

What Regina is quickly starting to think off as the bane of her existence rolls her eyes. "Whatever. If you are ever done being paranoid, you know where to find me".

And Emma Swan does something unusual for her, she leaves. Regina opens the door for her, not trusting the woman to leave without slamming her door, and closes it immediately. She feels tempted to take a detour to the kitchen for the headache she has after this, but instead walks upstairs to check on her son.

She pretends she didn't notice him hiding something and quickly grabbing his math book to pull it on his lap. She walks towards him and nearly crumbles at the look he sends her way -so very hostile- but miraculously manages to hide that.

" You still need to eat sweetheart".

" Don't care" he pretends to focus on his math book.

She sits down next to him. "I am sorry I did not come to get you earlier, Henry, but miss Swan was here".

That gets his attention. _I would like to rip her throat out._ Her son is hostile and almost cold around her, but he immediately perks up at even the name of that damned woman.

"Is she still here?" he asks excitedly, already starting to walk towards the door.

" No, she just left'.

He turns around, glares at her. "what did you do?".

" I am worried about you spending time with her, Henry. What do we even know about her?".

" I know she isn't like you, that she isn't _evil_ ".

It is a wonder that Regina can keep her face from showing how much that hurts. " I am your mother Henry, I am just attempting to protect you"

She walks over to him, bends so she is at eye-level. She desperately wants to embrace him but she knows he won't allow it. " We know very little of miss Swan, she might be dangerous".

"You're just saying that because you want her gone".

"No, I am saying that because I am concerned of the woman's influence on you".

" You are not worried about anyone but yourself, that is all you care about" he accuses.

" I care about _you_ , Henry".

"I am not dumb, I know you are lying" is all he says and – _how has it come to this. How can my own son believe I don't love him?_

"I am not lying. I reckon I care far more than this Swan woman".

" No, you don't. _Evil_ people don't care".

She is already opening her mouth to ground him or – better yet, tell him to never see Emma Swan again- when she hesitates. She doesn't ever listen to people telling her – or warning her, in the sheriff's case- what she should do. But she isn't a fool and she has realized that whatever she has been doing until now, has only caused Henry to pull away more.

Perhaps she needs to change tactics. " I do care a great deal Henry, which is why I won't forbid you to see this .. woman".

That catches him off guard, at least. " You won't?".

" No. But there will be conditions. You will not see her without me present".

" That is unfair!".

"Henry, I have no idea who she is or even where she lives. She could endanger you or take you. If you insist on seeing her, it will be supervised".

She is already steeling her for another fight when he slowly nods. She is not naïve enough to think that it means he will just accept her demands – he is most likely already thinking of ways to work around it- but at least he is not hurling accusations at her.

" If you want to see her, you will talk to me first. I will then make the arrangements with miss Swan. There also will be no more running away or constantly disobeying me. If you run away again, I will assume miss Swan has something to do with it and you will not be allowed to see her anymore'.

He glares at her. " So you still want to keep my mom from me".

"that woman is not your mother, she is an intruder". Before he can protest, she adds " but if she is truly that important to you, I will tolerate her presence. For now".

She almost wants to take it all back, to call Graham and demand he arrests Emma Swan ( and preferably sends her to a prison far away from here) when Henry remains hostile. It is not like she had expected to be hugged in gratitude, but even this seems to not change her son's attitude.

She straightens. " We are going to have dinner. I am withholding the dessert as punishment for your behaviour".

"Can Emma come? ".

" I think it is better if we allow miss Swan some time to cool off"

"So you did say something! I knew it, I knew you would-".

" I said nothing that was not the truth. And I would advise you to actually use the manners I taught you or I might revaluate whether I want that woman spending time with you".

She sighs. " _However,_ miss Swan can come to dinner another time. I will ask her tomorrow. As long as you stop the accusations Henry, they are extremely hurtful and untrue".

He doesn't say anything- _probably so that wretched woman will be allowed to visit-_ but the look in his eyes manages to convey quite clearly what he usually would've used words for. She pretends it doesn't hurt so terribly, then automatically reaches for him and has to pretend even hard that him pulling away from her doesn't hurt even more.

" I will be downstairs, in the kitchen" he used to love helping her in the kitchen, no matter what she made (but especially when she made anything sweet). " Do you want to help, darling?".

He glances at whatever he has hidden for a moment. " I do actually have some things to finish.." there is a moment where she is hopeful, where she thinks allowing miss Swan to spend time with him might benefit her already when he says 'but'.

Then: "I might as well make sure you are not poisoning anything"

" Henry!" .

" It is your thing, isn't it? ". He almost seems regretful for a moment, but she has to blink furiously and the next second he just looks angry.

" You _cannot_ keep talking to me this way, Henry".

"Or what? You will rip my heart out? ".

She bends down again, reaches for his hand "Henry, surely you cannot believe that I would ever hurt you"

He moves his hand out of the way, glares at her. " Yes, I do".

" well, you are wrong. I would never hurt you. And for that comment-".

He surges forward. "No! You just promised I would be allowed to see her".

" I am not going to reward you for being awful to me Henry. You can stay here or you can come into the kitchen to control whether I have 'poisoned' anything. But you will stay in your room after dinner- I will call Archie- and _actually_ do homework. If you can behave , I could invite miss Swan to dinner on Monday".

" I am sorry okay- I just " she almost breaks, easily would have if he had hugged her and called her 'mom' again. But he does neither of his things and she suspects his apology is just so he can see that woman.

" There are consequences to our actions, Henry. And you need to learn that, I am afraid".

She is almost getting used to his glares, but the way his eyes are wet hurt. He stares at her for a moment, then angrily wipes at his eyes and runs out of the room. " No running, Henry! You could get hurt".

She calls doctor Hopper- who stutters and is awfully meek as always- then goes towards the kitchen, where Henry is leaning against the counter.

It would almost be like old times, working on dinner together. Except, Henry would have been bouncing with questions and excitement – all 'what is that, what do you put in this, where did you learn this'- while there is an icy wall of silence right now. She would have held his hand to show him how to stir something, now he won't even allow her near him.

The icy silence continues during dinner, but he cleans the table without her having to ask for it. He doesn't thank her though or even allow her to finish the question she was asking, just shrugging and going upstairs. She hears the door slam.

And then she is alone,

Again.

* * *

Henry is still sullen and angry, but he is no longer accusing her of everything from making him eat poisonous food ( it is celery dear) to ripping out the hearts of random townspeople, nor is he calling her evil. In fact, he is talking very little to her- apart from saying things like 'where are my shoes' or talking about that woman.

Regina is furious about how he has only known Emma Swan for days – and she has done little but destroyed town property and been a general thorn in Regina's side- and she has already been granted Henry's adoration and near-worship. While Regina has given him everything the past ten years and now has to be happy when he even says 'thank you'.

It is terribly unfair and it makes her loathe the sight of blonde hair, red leather and the safety hazard that is her car. The woman lingers in her town and everyone immediately seems to like her- even though she is rude and steps all over boundaries and is a criminal-, as evidenced by the updates she get from Sydney. That is also how she knows miss Swan is using her roommate to keep updated on what is going on with Henry. Apart from that, she does not insinuate herself in Regina's life.

It is two days later when the blonde decides to bother her again. She is at Granny's , reading the newspaper and waiting for her lunch to be brought to her table. Seconds after the door opens, she can hear the chair across from her being shoved backwards.

She slowly lowers the newspaper, then glares at the woman that has the audacity to sit down across from her without permission. " Miss Swan, is there any reason you are forcing your presence on me?".

" How is he?".

" If you are referring to Henry, I am certain your neophyte secret agent has already told you everything you have no right to know".

" MM says she cannot ask too much, because that would be inappropriate. She keeps talking about the teacher-student relationship and boundaries".

Regina is annoyed that Snow has actually managed to do something semi-right. " It is wholly inappropriate to interrogate my son, yes".

" So how is he?".

" Well, he is finally not running away anymore- likely because there no longer is a teenage delinquent around to encourage him".

"Lady, I am seriously getting sick of your ins- how do you even know this shit?".

" Could you perhaps talk without using an abundance of swear words? ".

" _How_ do you know?".

Regina sips her coffee, enjoying watching the woman's fury rise. She finally puts the cup down. " I am the mayor. I take my town's security very seriously- ".

" So what, you send people to spy on me? That is abuse of power".

Regina laughs. "I am not doing anything illegal , miss Swan. And if I were, you still have no leg to stand on. You chose a closed adoption, so you have no legal rights to Henry. And yet you still come here and stalk a young boy whose mental state is already fragile".

" I did not stalk Henry- " miss Swan rolls her eyes. "it was more like he was stalking me , honestly. But really I am not here to fight with you".

"A bit of friendly advice dear, people generally try to not bother and annoy people if they do not wish to fight with them".

" Are you trying to pick a fight with me? Because you really are not following your own advice".

Regina reminds herself that it is not good for her mayoral image to punch the woman across from her. " Miss Swan, you were the one who sat down uninvited ".

"Fine, you have got a point. Just tell me whether Henry is okay and I will leave".

Regina sighs. " Miss Swan- " she is just about to list every single reason that she is not going to be blackmailed, especially not by someone who cannot even choose proper clothes for themselves when Ruby arrives with her lunch.

She stares at the both of them , then smiles brightly at the bane of Regina's existence. " Em! Hey, how are ya doing?".

" Hey Ruby, I am fine. Just talking to the mayor for a bit".

" Yeah, I can see that" Ruby looks both shocked and amused.

She puts the kale salad in front of Regina. " There ya go, madam Mayor. Can I get you anything else? " .

Regina smiles, almost genuinely. " Thank you, dear. And no, I do not need anything else".

She gives Regina a big smile before focusing on the annoyance across from Regina. " Is there anything you want, Ems?".

"Actually miss Lucas, that is not necessary. Miss Swan was just leaving".

" Actually I wasn't" She turns to Ruby, smiling as she rattles off an order. " A grilled cheese, fries, a donut and hot chocolate with cinnamon".

Ruby glances uncertainly at Regina. " Ehm- ".

Regina is already opening her mouth, ready to rebuke the blonde nuisance and teach her about manners when she remembers her son's constant questions – when is Emma coming, can I see her tomorrow- and reasons she needs to talk with her anyways. " Oh never mind, just let her stay" . She rolls her eyes. " she is probably going to ignore my wishes regardless of how clear I am about not wanting her here. Might as well save time".

Ruby stares for a moment, a very long moment. If Regina actually cared about her, she would probably check for a pulse. She finally shakes herself like a dog and gives that same easy smile. " Sure thing, ladies. It is coming up".

Then she leans towards E- miss Swan and whispers something that makes the woman laugh. Regina is even more annoyed when she realizes Emma Swan's laugh is rather pleasant. _If I still had magic, I could make her laugh sound like a dying hyena._ She smirks at the image, which is when Ruby slowly pulls back and saunters away.

" Is there any reason you are smirking like that?".

Regina regrettably lets go of the rather pleasant images – all the ways magic could have been used to humiliate this woman- and focus on miss Swan again. "I couldn't help but note the familiarity between you and miss Lucas. You seem to have you gotten.. close during your stay at her grandmother's inn".

The swan woman gives a tiny smile. To other people than Regina, it might be a bit terrifying. " What are you insinuating here?".

" Surely you are not stupid enough that you have to ask".

Swan leans back, crossing her arms. Regina has to hide a smirk – _hit a nerve, didn't I?_. " Why would you assume that?".

Regina slowly rakes her eyes over the woman's body. She has to admit- her body is one of the few likable qualities Emma Swan has to offer. She returns her eyes to hazel ones. " You do have a certain air about you".

" A certain- that's bullshit. And I am not in this town to do anything like that".

" I just noticed , dear, no need to get defensive".

" I just want to know m- Henry is okay".

" He is fine".

The woman scoffs. " You are lying. Try again".

Regina arches an eyebrow. " I assure you that I am not lying".

" Still lying. You are starting to make me rethink my decision to keep my distance, madam mayor".

" I can still have you arrested , miss Swan"

"You won't".

" I have warned you already not to underestimate me".

" I am not. I just know you already would have if you planned to".

The awful woman leans in a little. " Do you know what I think? I think that you do love your kid. I think you are just awful at social interactions. But maybe you finally understand that Henry will only get pissed at you if you drive me away, so you are hoping he will change his behaviour if you kind of ignore my existence instead of seeing it as an insult to you".

" And once again, you are pretending to be a certified psychologist" Regina herself is surprised that her voice is less venomous than it should be.

" I am not. It is just pretty important for a bailbondperson to understand people. If you know what drives them , how they think, it gets easier to catch them".

Despite herself, Regina is a little interested. _This woman is nothing. She is worse than nothing, with her atrocious manners and meddling personality._ She also the first person in ages to actually dare to disagree with Regina, which she should find annoying and infuriating and wrong ( and yes she does, but she finds it also refreshing and thrilling). " You did mention that your job consists of finding people" Regina remembers

" It does. Why do you have such a distasteful look at the idea"

 _Just thinking of a couple of idiots and their 'I will always find you' catchphrase._ " I was remembering something unpleasant. So you chase after people that ran away?"

" Well, yeah essentially. I put forward part of the money people need to be freed before their trail. If they run away, I chase after them to get my money back"

" That sounds dangerous".

" I haven't gotten hurt very often, but it sometimes happens yes" Regina quickly takes a bite from her salad to give her hands something to do when the woman smiles at her – a smile she would call Cha , she would call absolutely nothing. Apart from obnoxious, possibly.

"There was this one women who was tiny with a sweet smile . So I expected it to be really easy " she grins. If Regina believe the woman able of this, she would think it to be in a self-deprecating way. " Man, was I wrong. Turned out she had a black belt, so as soon as I tried to take her with me, I found myself with my ass on the ground and a foot in my stomach".

" So you actually have a habit of underestimating people".

" Well, I learned not to assume things after that. That thing to say about tiny people being terrifying? It is kind of true. That woman had the nastiest expression I've ever seen, really".

Regina cannot hold back a small chuckle at the expression of slight terror that is on Swan's face as she remembers the encounter.

" I am not surprised that you find other people's pain amusing " Swan says, but she does not sound angry or judgemental. She sounds more like they're old friends who are just teasing each other.

" I am sure it was only beneficial to have your ego damaged a little".

" Maybe. It definitely taught me to watch out for tiny women ".

" Have you often been beaten by women like that, then?".

" You are just eating this up, aren't you? I can almost feel your sadistic enjoyment".

" I am just making the best of a bad situation".

" It isn't that bad, we are actually being pleasant. Anyways, I have told you an embarrassing story, now it is your turn".

Regina arches an eyebrow. " I did not ask for that story, miss Swan. Why should I offer one in return?".

" Because I might have more stories like that and I just know you really want to hear them".

" I do not".

" Another lie. You lie a lot, don't you?".

Regina scowls. "I am not lying. I have no hidden desire to hear about your life, miss Swan".

" Lie. So what do you want to know? "

" I would like to know who Henry's father is" Regina normally tries to think before speaking. This time she just asks the question she has had ever since the woman was in front of her house. She feels a weird sensation in her stomach as the woman in front of her turns hostile again suddenly.

" He was an asshole. Next question".

" Are you certain he doesn't know or do I have to worry about another person stealing my son from me?".

"Believe me, he won't want anything to do with Henry" the swan woman has given Regina excellent ammunition to hurt her; she looks furious in way only helpless and desperately hurt people do. Her laugh isn't like before, it is almost ugly. " Too much fucking responsibility".

She would probably only need a couple of well-chosen words to make miss Swan stomp out of the dinner in furious , painful embarrassment. Instead, Regina opens her mouth and says in an almost hesitant voice " I used to ride horses. This one time I was attempting to saddle my horse when it pushed back, I stumbled and- I fell into the manure".

 _Why did I just tell her that. That is private._ Worse, it is one of the memories that have Daniel in it: he had been the one to insist that she needed to know how to do certain things herself. (after all, when we are married, we won't have servants for everything either. We will have to do things without help). And memories with Daniel in it are more than private, they are sacred.

She wants to tear apart this odd woman, that just waltzes into her town, wins her son's affection and makes Regina do things like offering private information. Then she actually looks up, scolding words on her tongue and she finds that desire a lot less strong.

Emma Swan is smiling at her, not laughing at her, but smiling almost gratefully. Regina wants to bristle at that smile. Wants to slap it off her face.

" You were a horse girl? ".

" I suppose. I did enjoy riding ".

A mouth corner twitches. " Apart from the moments that you fell into shit".

She tries, really she does, but for some reason her muscles don't listen so she answers that smile. " Apart from unfortunate accidents, yes".

The moment is shattered by Ruby's cheerful voice and the sound the plates make as they are placed on the table. " Hey Em, sorry that it took some time , we- " she stops her babbling as she finally realizes that both women were leaning forward a little and smiling at each other.

Her eyes sparkle mischievously. "Am I interrupting something?".

Regina bristles. " Absolutely not".

E- miss Swan doesn't even react to Ruby's suggestive tone. " Thank you, Ruby" she grins. "My stomach is really grateful".

Ruby laughs. " I am sure". She throws miss Swan one of her usual looks. " I am honestly surprised that you look like that when you shovel greasy food into your mouth like you are trying to set a world record".

Emma shrugs and swallows two mouthfuls of grilled cheese. Regina watches in sick fascination. _I am going to have to teach her table manners before I actually invite her to dinner._ " I work out a lot. And I have a fast metabolism, so.. ".

"Well, enjoy your food" she leans forward a _gain_ – _for god's sake_ \- and mutters something. This time, she is shoved playfully and admonished " It is not like that at all, that is crazy. Now let me eat in peace before someone _hears_ you".

Regina narrows her eyes in suspicion because miss Swan glances her way as she says 'someone'. As soon as Ruby has sauntered away - throwing a far too suggestive 'enjoy your … food, madam mayor' her way – she turns her focus on the woman gobbling food.

" Did miss Lucas say anything interesting".

" No, she just likes saying stupid stuff. She likes watching people's reactions".

Regina grimaces. " Chew, then swallow, then talk. Honestly, your table manners are worse than my ten-year-old, rebellious son's".

" Maybe you shouldn't ask me stuff while I am eating".

"Fine" Regina pointedly picks up what little is left of her salad. She watches the swan woman- who holds a slight resemblance to some sort of animal, perhaps a wolf, as she sinks her teeth into the grilled cheese and almost immediately swallows. Soon, the grilled cheese is gone and her attention is now on her fries.

After she has eaten about half of them, she nudges the plate towards the middle of the table. "Take some".

" I prefer to stay healthy, thank you ".

" How bad can a couple of fries be?".

" Depends on the salt , oil and such that is used to prepare them".

" Yeah whatever. Come on, I could feel you stare on them".

" That was because you eat like you are a starving animal, dear".

She stares with incredulity at the fry that is wriggled in front of her. " You totally want this".

" I do not".

" Lie. Are you going to pretend like you will immediately get a heart attack or gain ten pounds or are you going to actually eat something that does not taste like cardboard?".

Regina sighs. For what must be the fifth time, she questions her own sanity as she accepts the fry.

Somehow, this escalates until it is Regina sharing a plate with the swan woman and actually arguing who deserves the last fry- I have had fewer than you. Yeah, but I ordered them- until Regina naturally _wins and gets to eat the last one._

She is still enjoying her victory when she glances at the clock and realizes she should already have been working again. She cannot remember if she has ever taken a too long lunch break in all the time she has been mayor.

"Did I just piss you off again?" miss Swan sounds both amused and exasperated somehow when Regina throws some money on the table and stands.

" I was on my lunch break, dear".

" Ah got it" she smiles before frowning. " I still don't know how Henry is doing though. You were mostly insulting me and not really offering any information".

Regina grabs her coat and tugs it on. " Ask him yourself. You are invited for dinner tonight" She gives Emma a quick once-over. " I expect you to wear better clothing and have better manners then".

She grabs a napkin, then wipes at Emma's face that has crumbles and cheese . She only really notes what she is doing ( Henry spent most of his time flinging food or at least managing to get everywhere apart from his mouth) when Emma stares at her with this 'what the Hell' look. She quickly drops her hand and clears her throat.

" 7 O'clock, miss Swan. _Don't_ be late".

And she rushes out of the door before miss Swan can actually gather her wits (or whatever semblance of it).

* * *

The weeks pass quickly and each one has Regina in different states of emotional turmoil. She can see little signs of her curse unravelling – people suddenly talking about events they should've forgotten or looks thrown at her that are filled with less intimidation and more loathing- which leaves her furious and -although she would never admit it- frightened. During the moments that Henry is still angry and rejecting her, she thinks about burying her hand in miss Swan's pretty hair and throwing her in a cell herself. When Henry actually is encouraged by Emma to " treat Regina like a human being and not some cartoon villain" she feels more inclined to squeeze her shoulder or smile at her ( or that one time, when she had had a little bit too much cider, lick and kiss the cider off her lips) As Graham spends most of his time at doctor Hopper's couch – most think he has lost his mind, but Regina _knows._ It is only when he snaps and attacks her (and is punched by a furious Emma for it) that she feels a little safer. He is locked up- and Emma Swan somehow is appointed Sheriff ( Henry beams and Regina can feel her lips turn up despite herself) , town life changes in ways she thought she would never be okay with.

Sometimes she isn't – especially not when Emma confides in her when 'Mary Margaret' suddenly starts getting 'wacko dreams about hitting men with rocks' – and sometimes she is- Emma and she somehow forge a friendship after a lot of bickering and near-escalations and accusations. Even Henry changes- she pretends she doesn't notice his talks with Emma, that she doesn't know he still believes- because even if his belief seems strong, he treats her different now ( the first time he called her mom again, in this offhand way like it wasn't what she would have killed for all over again, she dropped a plate and nearly burst into tears).

Sometimes, she has to fight her impulses. She still has Graham's heart in her vault, still has Sydney following her around ( sometimes. Mostly, he is too terrified of Emma to really stalk her the way he did before) and other people in town that she could use to make sure her curse is protected. In the beginning, she sometimes does- telling Sydney to print an article " on that woman's delusions, perhaps write she has spent time in the psych ward " or holding Graham's heart to make him forget for a little while before the memories return in dreams- but then Emma somehow becomes this person that matters somehow and Henry has moments that he just absentmindedly calls her mom or smiles at her.

Or she confides into Emma that " I have hurt people for a long time and now I don't know how to stop" which leads to Emma telling her she has "done some fucked-up shit Regina and I managed to turn my life around". And that somehow makes it easier ( she still runs to her vault and searches for ways to keep the curse intact, convinced she will lose them both, knowing there are no ways – that perhaps not even Rumplestiltskin knows a way)

She doesn't know when exactly it happens. Emma might have been there for six months , maybe a little less time, maybe a little more. It is a cold night (the weather, just another sign of her curse breaking) and she has invited Emma – in her own way, which basically consists of "I will not be accused of second degree murder simply because you are idiotic enough to go outside in this weather- to stay. She expects there to be ridiculous stories and perhaps a little too much drinking and gentle barbs.

She does not expect her fucking world to be lifted up and crashed, ruined, destroyed.

They have actually shared stories from their pasts before- even painful ones, like details from Emma's time in foster care or what growing up with Cora Mills as a mother was like. They have learned to open up -without Regina getting furious ( she has never dealt well with remembering pain) or Emma running away- and tell each other things they would not soon tell anyone else.

This night – it goes further than that. Regina doesn't know how it happens, but suddenly there is a teary-eyed Emma Swan that sounds so _furious_ ( almost dark. And pained) as she admits " I get the kid, really. It used to be all I thought about. Why did they give me up? I thought it was just me. I thought I wasn't good enough. I kept being sent back, so that had to be it. And eventually, I didn't care anymore. They dumped me at the side of a road like I was fucking _trash_ ".

(Regina almost grabs Emma and tells her, actually has to bite her lip not to tell her about that night and how Emma's father almost died in order to get her away from a curse. How there were tears on both their faces and Snow had never looked so defeated and miserable before)

Later, when Emma has fallen asleep and might not even remember, it all _Regina_ can think about. She tosses and turns and finally falls asleep only to have nightmares that have all to do with Emma. Until this moment, she could pretend that she had not doubted anything as Emma felt torn apart about Graham (she had actually become friends with him) or Henry was almost sick with worry as Mary Margaret had to stop teaching for a few weeks because of the dreams.

 _I cannot hurt them like this anymore. It is too painful ._

So that has her creeping towards her son's room in the early hours of the morning, leaning against the door as she watches him for a moment, gently closed it behind her and sits down on the bed.

" Henry " she hardly notes her voice trembling. Perhaps Henry does: he wakes easier than usually.

" M-mom? Wha- whas wrong? " he mumbles sleepily and even now, she is so very glad he still calls her 'mom'. She tries to not dwell on the fact it might be the last time.

He rubs his eyes, then gasps and points at her eyes. "You are crying, why are you- ".

" Henry- " a sob catches in her throat and she needs several moments to collect herself.

" Mom, what is going on? Do I need to get Emma?".

She grabs his arm as he starts to stand. " No, this is something between you and me".

He moves back on the back after a short hesitation. " Okay".

She takes a shuddering breath. " I just- I cannot continue like this anymore. I have to- even if it destroys me, I have to be truthful before it is already happening and you won't believe me if I told you I didn't know how".

" Okay.. mom is this about- " he doesn't speak the words, but she knows.

She manages a tearful laugh. " Yes my smart, smart boy. It is about the curse".

She forces herself to look at him as she takes one shuddering breath and tells him. " It is real. Everything in that wretched book of yours is".

She presses her hand to her stomach, though it helps little. "I am the queen".


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own OUAT.**

 **Several things:**

 **A-Ravenclaw-Demigoddess: thanks for the tip! I am sorry, but I really am too freaking tired to look for the mistakes right now so I will do that tomorrow : ) I also really appreciate the 'oh my god. I love it'.**

 **Danica-SQ: Thank you for your kind words, I hope I updated soon enough and that you still like it**

 **Guest: Wow, thanks! And yes, I will : )**

 **One – I have yet to properly reread and edit so sorry for any mistakes or whatever. It is just too late and I am really tired, so I will do that tomorrow.**

 **Two- I actually wrote the last part of chapter one (so the part after Regina/Emma talked in the diner) in a hurry and I am not really satisfied. So I thought of rewriting that part, possibly turning them in slightly longer (but not very long) moments such as tiny signs of the unravelling of the curse, Henry/Regina learning how to deal with each other better and Emma/Regina slowly mending their differences. Good idea? Bad idea?**

 **I don't want to use whole chapters to describe the six months, because the general plot is Regina admitting the curse is real (after six months where she/ Emma slowly became friends & her relationship with Henry improved) and Henry starting a new operation …. (I don't want to give too many spoilers, but he is not just trying to break the curse, he has more plans than that) **

**Three- I changed the summary slightly. I might change it again ( I am still not satisfied with it) but that will all happen tomorrow..  
**

 **Enjoy!**

For a moment, his bottom lip trembles in a way it has not since that time he accidentally took something from a store and thought that meant he was a criminal facing jail. He stares at her, shakes his head. Is he angry at her for lying, sad because it is actually true, _happy_ that he is right and – no, her little boy would not think like that. He is too good for that.

He opens his mouth several times, she knows him well enough that he is going over sentences in his head, thinking carefully what is the best thing to say (she used to help him with it, when his mind was running with too many thoughts to properly articulate) " It is a trap" he finally settles on, that distrustful look that had slowly been fading returning with a vengeance. " As soon as you know whether I still believe, you will sent me back to Archie"

(he only meets Archie now to walk Pongo or just to ask how he is doing)

She is attempting to not sob her heart out, pull her son into her arms, break down like she has not for – gods, she doesn't even know. "I wish it was like that, that I had not the slightest idea of who I was or the curse was all a fabrication by a very ingenious boy" she swallows, shakes her head. " But it i-isn't" .

The silence between them makes it so easy to think about what she stands to lose – him, Emma, any semblance of control or autonomy, her life- if this curse breaks. It makes those impulses return, like a really bad itch and it is so difficult not to scratch. She has to remind herself- Henry and Emma won't forgive her ( she shuts down the voice that whispers 'even if you do not darken your heart any further, what makes you think they will accept the parts that are already dark')

Henry finally speaks again, voice choked. " So you don't love me".

She grabs his hands when angrily swipes at his tears, rubbing hard enough that his skin turns slightly red. " _Henry_ " is all she gets out at first, thinking of how to tell him that he is the only thing that could ever fill the part of her heart that was ripped out when she cast the curse, that holding him in her arms was the first time in decades that everything in her just shut up and she felt truly happy. He is named after two people she tortured, killed and crossed realms for and how _fitting_ that is.

He is staring down at the blanket, so she slowly reaches for his chin ( slowly, because these months she has learned that holding on to something too tightly does not make them love you more. Slowly, so he can tell her whether it's okay or not). She can feel a few tears slip as he lets her. She makes him look into her eyes, smiles tearfully at him. " Henry, why would I have fought so hard to keep you if I did not love you?".

" Because I am – " he hesitates and she just knows he is – well not lying exactly, but definitely keeping information to himself. She knows how to recognize half-truths and omissions in her son. " The villains never love".

She thinks of Maleficent's eyes when she started darkening her heart more and more- her face was always devoid of emotion, but she never could extend that same indifference to her eyes. She could tell him how wrong he is.

" I do love you" is all she stresses instead, fighting against every impulse that tells her to hide her tears (she and Henry have actually talked, talks that were like time bombs or mines but that made her understand how bad it is to hide her feeling from him)

He shakes his head. " Evil does not love".

Part of her wants to lash out again. "I have committed e- acts that were _wrong_ , but I have also done things right".

" You have hurt and _k-killed_ people" he accuses

It is so difficult to not deny it, but then she thinks of the look in Emma's eyes when she told about her birthparents and presses on. " I was hurting. I was hurting for a long time and- ".

" But I don't _understand"_ he interrupts her, that lip still trembling. He inhales shakily. " I don't understand you- the evil queen. Why would she hurt Snow white when Snow is valiant and kind and good? ".

He is looking at her like this is a question as life-changing as 'what is the purpose of my life', like it an break or make something, but-

She doesn't know how to explain. How do you tell a ten-year-old boy of a shadow of a father, a life that is owned by someone else and things done to you that still make you flinch decades and temporarily memory loss later? How do you describe that you kept seeing and hearing things- a necklace cutting into Snow's neck, her gasps as it strangles her- without losing him forever? How do you describe being so hopeless that you might as well have ripped your own heart out along with your father's, or the desperate desire for any kind of happy ending. How do you understand both loathing and loving people?

(she fears Henry might know exactly what it feels like to love and loathe someone, if she is even fortunate enough to still have his love).

"Henry, I am not certain whether I should tell you- ".

" I knew it! You already taking it back- " she is not sure but it seems like he is hyperventilating. "You do not care that what we have with Emma works and you are going to force me to talk to Archie again and you are going take Emma f-from me".

It is remarkable how it almost does not hurt anymore that he loves Emma _this_ much ( perhaps it is because she has grown fond of the idiot herself) . It actually hurts more that he looks panicked and in a lot of pain – and she is sure he would be begging her to not take Emma away if he had not inherited her stubbornness.

"No! I would not take miss Swan away from you-"

" You are calling her miss Swan again! I knew it, you a-are going back to being mean to Emma and you a-are going to send me back to Archie and- we are going to lose our family!".

He used to crawl into her arms after a nightmare and she hopes she can offer the same comfort now. He is tense for a moment in her arms. She whispers " Henry, I _swear_ that that is not going to happen" and he slowly relaxes.

He pulls back a little, sniffs and swallows. " R-really?".

" Really. You know, miss- Emma has grown on me. She has become a .. confidante these past months, no matter how far-fetched the idea of it would have been all those months ago".

" P-please don't break her heart. Don't pull away or start the snide remarks again or call her miss Swan – it hurts her when you distance yourself".

(she knows. Emma had actually punched a wall once - in reply to the 'miss Swan's' and ice caused by Regina's panic over the realization that protecting Emma would feel as natural as protecting Henry by now)

There is just one thing that puzzles her.

"Henry.. why do you think I am capable of breaking her heart?" Hearts do not break, they only turn into dust when you are too rough with them.

He pulls back completely, her hands automatically reaching for him before she forces them to drop. He swallows, shrugs. " You take hearts".

But that is _definitely_ a lie- not that she takes heart, but that it is what he meant by it. She knows it. Still, she is terrified of the anger returning so she steers the conversation away from something as riddled with mines like that.

" I do not wish any harm to come to Emma, my darling, I promise".

He hesitates, stares at her for a long moment. "I don't think you are lying, but- hurting people is all you do in the book".

She hesitates, then says " I read your book".

" I know, you asked for the missing pa- " he suddenly tenses and scoots away from her. " You want the pages. That is why you are telling me this and have pretended to be – ".

She cuts him off. She cannot bear hearing more of this. " Henry, it not about the missing pages. It is about how that books only shows me as a one-dimension _villain_ ".

He blinks. "But that is- "

" Henry, it not like I loathed .. _her_ from the moment I was born. I had dreams and hopes before I ever was as unfortunate as to meet her".

He stares at her with a thoughtful expression. There is silence for a while, slightly less tense than before.

" Will you tell me?".

Regina is already opening her mouth to tell him 'absolutely not' when she hesitates. She knows Henry is the kind of person who loves easily, who is kind to nearly everyone, who likes to help people. But he is also an angry ten-year-old who can only see her as a villain right now. And if there is even the slightest chance that hearing her story- without giving too much details, because she would die before ever telling him how exactly _her_ mother forced her to obey- might change this, then it is something she wants to do.

So she does. She tells him of being a young girl and growing up with a mother that constantly told her what and who she had to be, about being forced (how? My mother was a cruel woman , Henry. There was no price high enough to pay to get me on the throne. _Please_ do not ask me to elaborate), about being so very lonely until she met Daniel (she glosses over this part, remembering how bright he used to smile at her makes her want to knock down 'Mary Margaret' s door and- well) , about being the bride of a man she did not love, of having to raise the girl that cost her so much, about the empty happiness of those eighteen years, about _him_ and how she almost gave him away but knew she finally had her own happy ending.

"You forgot.. for me?" he whispers. He has moved closer during the story until he leaning against her.

"Yes" she forces the admission out: " I did not think I could be a mother if I did not".

" Why not?"

" I- " she thinks about that moment. "I would have seen Mar- " she is so used to never actually using Snow's name by now, her curse name leaving a slightly less bitter taste in her mouth. " _Snow_ regularly and I would have been preoccupied with that familiar anger. If she had smiled, I would have spent time on discovering why and making sure it did not happen again. I would not have been able to completely dedicate myself to being your mother with an even-more-than- usual oblivious Snow constantly thrown into my face".

It is perhaps too honest, but she all these times the past months, even small lies have made Henry immediately distance himself again.

""Why did you even curse yourself along with them?".

" I did not curse myself".

"You technically did. I mean, the curse did not take your memories but it did bring you here. Where you had to be with your enemies, for like forever". He shrugs. " It is kind of a mediocre plot, really. I mean, could you not have cursed yourself to like Disneyland and left the rest of them here?".

" It was the dark curse to end all curses, sweetheart, not a golden ticket hidden in a chocolate bar".

" Uh that is Charlie and the chocolate factory. That has nothing to do with Disneyland".

He yawns. "You still have to finish your story".

She stares at him; he is not accusing her, telling her she is not 'his mom' or even looking especially angry. She could almost fool herself into believing it is just another night-time story, like they used to have.

"And she lived happily ever after with her son… until the day a blonde nuisance crashed her pile of rust into the town sign" she says the last few words with fondness that surprises herself. Henry glares for half a moment, then realizes it is just like when Emma trailed mud over his mother's floors and Regina kept calling her a " bad-mannered Neanderthal" as she made her scrub the floors. His mom does not really mean it when she uses insults and Emma seems to get that (mostly; there are some words she reacts to with slammed doors)

Still, he mutters a sleepy " She is not a nuisance. She does chores and makes both of us laugh and she is really good at getting rid of tension".

" I suppose that is true" .

" You don't have to pretend you only tolerate her, you are smiling".

She honestly did not notice. " I admit I more than tolerate her. Her presence is- .. surprisingly acceptable".

He gives her that look, the one that makes her feel like a live frog about to be dissected, but surprisingly just nods and says "okay". He bites his lip nervously , the sound of him inhaling sharply startling in the quiet. "Are you going to try to strengthen the curse again?".

He is tense now, obviously getting ready to pull (and probably run) away. He is talking faster. " I know it is breaking. Miss Mary Margaret actually stepped away when Delilah offered her an apple. Sheriff Graham said you had done 'something' to him, that it was your fault he felt 'nothing'. There are suddenly crickets and rain and people are getting a cold. _I know._ ".

" My smart boy" .

" I won't stop trying to break it" his voice is really small and he subtly moves away a little.

She stares at the comics he has strewn around the room despite her order to clean it. _That has not changed._ " No, darling, we are going to ensure it breaks".

" Wha- I don't believe you, you are playing me!" he accuses, leaping away from her. His hand is on the doorknob when she says " I will lose. But I will lose more if I attempt to keep the curse intact while I know I will only prolong it a little".

He turns around, very slowly. His hand is still on the doorknob. " That is why I came to you Henry. Partly because I needed to be honest- but also because you are the only one who can break this curse".

He grips the doorknob a little tighter. " Only the saviour can break the curse".

"and according to the book, everything can only end well if I perish".

He stumbles, turns deathly pale. " W-what?".

" the saviour will return… the curse will break… and the final battle will begin…" she quotes. She had immediately known what that meant. She had assumed Henry knew as well. " Henry- do you mean, all this time- ".

" I thought they would just take your magic and lock you up, no- they're good! Good guys do not kill" he insists, trembling.

She slowly stands. " Henry- I know you think of these people as " she curls her lips and nearly spits out the word " _heroes_ , but that means very little. There have been benevolent monarchs that still murdered, especially if it were threats to their kingdom and their security that were in front of them".

" They c-can't, _you_ c-can't – "

He struggles to pull himself together, clenches his fists, grits his teeth. " No. They're heroes. Heroes don't – heroes don't do _that_ ".

She takes a slow step towards him, hyper-aware of how terribly wrong this all can go. " Henry-".

" No! "he half-shouts. He stumbles over his words- " you- they, it isn't " then accuses 'you're lying. You must be. You are attempting to make me take your side".

" Henry, I promise-" she starts to say, reaches for him. It is easy to believe there's magic in this world when her heart feels like it is being crushed: he pulls away, throws open the door and slips downstairs.

She starts to go after him, then is caught off guard by sobs. She takes a moment to compose herself, pressing her face into Henry's pillow as she cannot stop the tears from sleeping. She wants to start the Mercedes and make another forgetting potion- but the ingredients are gone and whatever care Henry has left for her would forever perish.

When she has managed to make it seem less like she had been helplessly crying , she walks downstairs- only to find him under the blanket she threw over Emma after she fell asleep on the couch. He watches her move with distrustful eyes- thankfully the anger has faded- and approaches the two of them.

She ignores- no, that is not right. This thing she has been doing is not ignoring, not at all. It is recognizing a catastrophe, a mistake of the worst kind. It is pushing down, pushing down that feeling she used to get at the idea of her life with Daniel, how she would plan and think and dream.

She pushes it so deep down she can almost convince herself that it was never there in the first place.

" Henry- we still need to finish our talk" she says.

He throws his arm protectively over Emma, shakes his head. "I am not going to listen to your lies" .

Six months ago, she would have scolded him and tried to do things her ways anyways. Now, she sighs and says " they are not lies Henry. I am not manipulating you into anything".

He wavers. She almost wishes Emma believed, so she could talk about this with her ( but then again, would anything positive exist between them if Emma believed) . " You are the qu- the evil queen" he whispers.

Next to him, Emma stirs like she does have another superpower that consists of knowing when Regina is hurt.

Henry and she both look at Emma for a while, both of them silent and still until she stops wriggling around and mumbling. Regina looks at Henry. " I should not have spoken so freely- I" it seems ridiculous now, that her sweet boy could have ever been capable of letting anyone be murdered.

" You thought I knew?".

" I assumed you got to the same conclusion as anyone who reads 'and then the final battle will become' " she smiles before he can speak any of the things that are obviously on the tip of his tongue. " I should have known you would never consent to murder. You are too good for that".

"Snow white and prince Charming wouldn't do something like that" he insists. She notes but chooses not to comment on the tiniest note of doubt in his voice.

" There are more than heroes or characters in a book, Henry" is all she says, even though she could say so much more. She could talk about executions and the need for self-preservation( how easy it is to hurt others to save or help yourself, even accidentally).

" they are not the ones who are wrong here" he stubbornly insists, voice rising before he glances at Emma and lowers it again.

She has been starting to wonder about that too lately. But really, when something continues for as long as the feud between her and Snow.. both sides will make mistakes. (and she has always wondered how good Snow white can truly be when she continues running and fighting while she knows that as long as she is alive, entire towns suffer)

" Even if that is the case, it does not mean that they are the virtuous, heroic leaders they present themselves as. They are not without flaws Henry".

" that is what Emma says too. That it is bullshit to –"

"Henry!" she admonishes.

"That is how Emma phrased it. And you have to be angry at me quietly because she is still sleeping".

Regina narrows her eyes. It could be just Emma forgetting she is not supposed to swear- maybe she was too impassioned, which is possible as the whole hero-villain-white-black thing annoys her to no end but- " She still claims.. that word is not an expletive… does she?"

" I am not a tattletale "

" Anyways, Emma says that it is kind of misleading to see people as fairy characters because they're one-dimensional according to her. And people are never one-dimensional, there is always more going on. Things are not that simple or all the bad people would be locked up and all the good people would be treated well".

 _Emma Swan is truly full of surprises._ And of course Regina has heard Emma talk about things like this and of course she knows Emma is actually quite intelligent but still. It sometimes baffles her how – even if Emma is not the most articulate person- she gets a point across quite effectively. And how she is constantly making sure Henry knows that 'he is a lucky little shit, that is sure' ( Emma had justified calling Henry a little shit by saying "Regina he threatened to call the police like two minutes after I had met him. He is a great kid- but only a little shit would steal someone's credit card so he can threaten someone into bringing him into a crazy town")

She did not let the woman get away unscathed after calling her son a 'little shit', of course, but it does not change the fact that Regina gets all these annoying _feelings_ whenever Emma 'comes to her rescue'.

In fact, she gets the same feelings now; it starts at her stomach, where she can practically feel the butterfly wings, to her heart that reacts like she has suddenly burst into a sprint, to her disobedient mouth that starts to smile and finally there is this incredible glowing feeling like her body is filling with fireflies.

It is really quite bothersome.

" Why are you smiling like that?" Henry suddenly asks, vaguely suspicious. If she did not know Emma lacked the discipline for it, she might have accused her of researching potions and slipping it into Regina's drinks: she never spaces out like this.

" Miss Swan is quite right ".

" It's really odd when you revert to calling her miss Swan".

" _Emma_ is quite right".

" Is that truly Regina Mills admitting I am right?" an amused voice says, causing both Henry and Regina to glance at a now- barely- awake Emma Swan.

Regina rolls her eyes. " I am going to prepare breakfast"

" NO REALLY WERE YOU ADMITTING THAT I AM RIGHT? ".

She smiles as she can hear Henry say " You just insulted your own intelligence". He is using the exact tone she frequently uses when dealing with complaining townsfolk.

" How did I insult my own intelligence kid? It is pretty normal for me to think I am still dreaming when such a special thing as your mom admitting I am right happens".

" Like, you needed validation that you were right. So you are insinuating that you are almost never right".

" I am right often enough, your mother just never admits I am".

The sounds slowly fade away as she enters the kitchen and turns on the stereo she keeps there. Listening to classical music makes cooking easier somehow, she is more focused and enjoys every small act more. Besides, music like 'Carmina Burana' has always been one of the closest things this world has to offer to magic (it can prompt feelings as intense as magic would cause, with less of the heart-darkening consequences)

She is sliding the third pancake on a plate when Emma enters the kitchen and tries to take a piece of it. She slaps the hand away with the first item she can get her hands on. Emma glares at the spoon, then tries to reach for the golden-brown pancake again. Thuk!

" Regina, will you stop that already jeez".

She brandishes the spoon threateningly " You will wait until we are seated".

" I am a grown woman, I think I will decide for my- ouch! _Regina_ ".

" It is a spoon , my dear, not a Taser. As soon as I deliver 1200 volts to your body, you are allowed to whine this much".

Emma throws her a look . " Your sass is not appreciated this early".

She smirks. " So it is appreciated at other times".

"Lady, do you think I would still be here if I got really annoyed by sass? You and the kid are- _Regina stop the hitting seriously_ ".

She is getting ready to softly hit Emma on her shoulder when she is suddenly grabbed and pulled against a very warm, nice-smelling body. There is a muscular arm keeping her in this position and another grabbing for the spoon. There is a moment of – _not this again_ – as she can immediately feel her heart- the appropriate word might be flutter, how mortifying. Then she realizes what Emma is doing. _Oh no, you don't._

"Miss-" she wriggles, uselessly. " Swan- " she stands on her toes and tries to push/pull herself free" If you not release me this instant- ".

" Give me the weapon first" Emma laughs.

The laugh changes into stunned silence when Regina changes tactics after another minute of altogether too distracting wriggling- she leans forward and grabs the spoon with her teeth then yanks. She is quite certain that it is only surprise that has Emma yield, the spoon now clutched between her teeth.

She recovers admirably quickly. She is wildly reaching for the one spoon with her only free hand, which is when Regina lurches and pulls herself free. She is thinking she has won when her pulse jumps beneath Emma's hand on her wrist and she is pulled back to that body.

She can see Emma's eyes now, feel it every times she breathes (and possibly when her heart flutters like those long eyelashes, or is she imagining that?). She is startled by this , just long enough that she doesn't react as quickly as usually when Emma lets her go and snatches the spoon from her.

She grimaces as Emma grins before racing away.

* * *

Regina glares at the spoon next to Emma's plate. After placing the towering pile of pancakes on the table- and refusing Emma's help- she holds up her hand. " Spoon, now" she orders.

Emma gives a mischievous smile and holds up the spoon. " I earned this fair and square, so you are not getting it back".

Regina arches an eyebrow. " I will give you a choice , Emma" she slowly starts to smirk, which makes Emma narrow her eyes and clutch her spoon tighter. " The spoon or the pancakes. Which do you want most?".

Emma rolls her eyes. "You are not going to starve me just because I took one of your spoons".

" Starve would imply a long period without eating, my dear, and I am quite certain that you are capable of ordering greasy food at Granny's".

Emma stares her down for a moment, then offers her the spoon and sighs " Just give me the pancakes" she grumbles

She accepts the reluctantly offered spoon, then saunters towards the kitchen. By the time she returns with the rest of the food, Emma and Henry have put pancakes on their plates and drowned them in syrup but aren't eating yet. It took forever before Emma learned that particular trick.

As soon as she sits down, they are gobbling on their pancakes. She grimaces a little- Emma's eating habits have improved, but she still has a tendency to say things like 'it is so good' with her mouth full- but focuses on her own food. By the time she has actually finished her small waffle, Henry and Emma have moved on to waffles as well.

As soon as she has eaten the fruit and yoghurt that is the rest of her meal, she dabs at her mouth with the napkin and sits back. Emma and Henry are still attacking their food like it will walk away if they wait for too long.

She tries to engage Henry in conversation, but he keeps rebuking it, asking Emma questions instead or just stuffing his face. Her thoughts are only kept away from dangerous territory- like whether Snow would completely snap if she just started hiding apples around town for Snow to stumble on- when there is a silver objects with a golden-brown mashup on it.

Regina glares at it, then at the smiling woman offering it to her. " I am not polluting my body by eating _that_ '.

Emma rolls her eyes. " I know you actually do like greasy food Regina, just open your mouth".

" Fine, I am opening my mouth- "

" To eat. Not to scold or give me all these facts about the health dangerous of 'copious amounts of salt, carbs and sugars'. Honestly, I have seen you eat greasy food so it is also hypocritical".

" I occasionally enjoy greasy food. While you seemed to have turned bearclaws into a new food group".

" I am only offering you one bite, so you can definitely eat that".

Regina rolls her eyes, but starts to lean forward. On an impulse , she suddenly gently reaches for Emma's wrists and pulls the hand towards her. She keeps holding on to it even after she is already chewing on the bits of syrup-and-pancake. She licks her lips, then remarks " Thank you for offering me some of my own cooking, along with too much syrup that ruins it".

" There is no such thing as too much syrup".

Henry, his mouth full of pancake, nods enthusiastically. She sighs. " I do not remember my son having a habit of drowning his pancakes in syrup before your arrival".

Emma offers Regina another bite. She stares at it with contempt for a moment before accepting it. " I have done a good thing, then" she remarks, smiling.

" That is debatable. If he gets heart issues, I will know what caused it".

Regina only realizes what she has said when Emma's easy smile disappears. A little more than a month after Emma's arrival, Regina had a weak moment and came very close to crushing Graham's heart. Somehow, she found it in herself not to but he was still rushed to the hospital for inspection. Emma had already become somewhat friends with him by then, so she had been understandably distressed when the sheriff had suddenly stumbled and started to sweat mid-conversation.

" My apologies" she stiffly offers.

Emma smiles. It doesn't reach her eyes. " It is okay" she quickly eats the last bite, then stands. " I probably should go anyways, I can hardly let my deputy do all the work" .

Regina stands as well. " Yes indeed. Playing darts is obviously something that requires two people" she teases.

" You caught me playing darts _one time_ ".

" One time too many. That is not what the town pays you for".

" I don't think the town pays you to threaten newcomers either".

" I was protecting the town".

Emma snorts. " Bullshit".

" Do not curse in front-".

" It is hardly a curse word. It is literally- I don't have time for this. Are we still on for tonight?".

" As long as you do not suddenly have plans with your snivel-".

" Hey, I told you. You don't need to like MM, but you can't say shitty things about her".

" Fine. If you do not have plans with that.. woman , then yes we are still 'on' for tonight"

" Cool" she walsk over to Henry to ruffle his hair, then squeezes Regina's arm briefly. " Don't terrorize the townspeople, I have to deal with their complains".

" Has anyone ever actually complained about me?".

Emma just throws her jacket on and smiles. Regina has no idea what that smile means. She can already hear the door shut before she can ask however, so instead she turns back to Henry.

Like usually, he is cleaning the table. It is one of the chores he has been doing again and she is relieved to see he is not immediately starting his rebellious behaviour again. _This is going better than I expected._ She doesn't know what she expected, although she knows what she feared. Silence or angry words, coming home to find her son gone again, hearing him plead to live at Emma's… Loathing, basically. And it doesn't even bear to think on what Henry might do after the curse breaks, even when her mind seems to take great delight in torturing her with the possibilities.

Now, however, her son might not be smiling at her or laughing as he was with Emma but at least he is not glaring at her with outright suspicion and loathing. It gives her just enough hope to follow him to the kitchen and call his name.

" I have to go to school" he immediately says as he rinses the plates before pushing them in the dishwasher. " And don't you have work?".

" I- " she does, but this is far more important. " do, but we need to discuss this Henry".

" Maybe. I have a lot to think about"

It is difficult not to push. " Fine. But at least promise me we will talk about- " she does not endorse skipping school, but these are special circumstances. " Are you certain that you do not want me to call your school?".

" I am certain" he looks at her before she can push. " It's weird that you admitted it, but I have known about the c- "he hesitates, then steels his resolve. " the curse forever. I will be fine".

" All right, sweetheart" she automatically bends to kiss him on his head. He cringes, but does not pull away. " I am going to brush my teeth and will walk you to the school bus afterwards".

" That is really not necessary" he says.

"Do you not want me to?".

He shrugs. " I guess it is okay." He opens his mouth looking like he wants to ask something, then closes it again. " Are you going to change again?".

She stops at the kitchen door. " What are you talking about , darling?".

" After Emma came to town, you changed. Are you going to again now that the curse is breaking"

She knows what he is really asking. _Are you going to hurt anyone._ " I am changing Henry. I am trying very hard to be the person you need me to be".

There is a short hesitation, then a nod. " I like it. How things have been these past months I mean".

She doesn't hesitate at all. "Me too".

* * *

She is just reading a report that is only extraordinary because of how tedious it is – _why is it necessary to document every piteous crime in this town again? Perhaps I should craft a law that prohibits the sheriff department to write a report on anything that is too ridiculous or dull_ – when he pushes in.

" Henry!" she exclaims.

" Hi … mom. Do you have some time?".

She glances at the report, that really is of no consequence, then nods. She opens the drawer and lays the report in it with a little vindictive glee, then gestures at the chair in front of her desk. " I can ring my secretary if you want anything, dar-".

He grins as he shows her the kale salad. " Granny's" he shoves the kale salad towards her, then places something else on the desk. " I got myself a chicken wrap. That's okay, right?".

"It is fine dear. How long does your break last?".

He tears off a bit of wrap first, then says "forty minutes. But miss Blanchard did not feel well, so she is going to see the doctor. She thinks it will take about an hour, so almost everyone went home".

They eat in silence for a while, before Henry places three more things on the table. A cup of coffee for her, a coke for him and …

" You brought your book" she says, staring down at the familiar 'once upon a time' written down on it. Inwardly, her heart is pouncing. Outwardly, she looks mildly curious. " Why?".

He places his hands on the book. " You said you were going to help break the curse, right?".

She hesitates – is she truly ready to destroy a lifetime of work? Then nods after thinking of comic books and horrid table manners and laughter during movie nights. " Yes- " she clears her throat. " Yes, that is true".

He _beams._ " Perfect. So- ".

He opens the book; there are pages attached to the first ones with paperclips. " I have identified several stages, with their own purpose. Operation name is red, code names are black and the stages are blue".

He turns the book towards her, so she can read the bold, red letters:

 **Operation Out**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own OUAT. I am really sorry I still haven't edited the other chapters, I've just been insanely busy. I will actually do that, someday, but I don't know when. Code names are probably temporary hh.**

 **Operation Out**

 **Agents:**

 **R. Mills. Enchanted forest alias: the Evil Queen. Storybrooke alias: Henry's mother, Emma's friend, mayor. Code name: Persephone.**

 **H. Mills. Enchanted forest alias: non. Storybrooke alias : son of the mayor & Emma. Code name: Hercules. **

" I also thought it would be handy to write down the aliases, so- " he flips a couple of pages to show her blank pages- apart from the several lines at the beginning. Even with Henry and Emma as a soothing palm , the words 'Snow White', still make that familiar burn her a little.

" I don't think I have everyone though- or all the information" she nearly melts at how enthusiastic he looks, more-or-less bouncing in his seat with enthusiasm. He had been warming up to her, after long and difficult months of struggle, but he had not been with her like this for a long time and she is slightly mortified to realize there are tears in her eyes. They could both be from happiness- or sadness at the remembrance of what she had once had all the time, what had been so effortless.

He looks at her , grins for a moment, mouth already opening to ask a question- then frowns. " M-mom? Are you okay?".

She swallows. _You should not keep your feelings from him Regina, it makes him feel like shit! It makes him think he doesn't matter, or that you are lying._ It's Emma's voice she hears, something she has actually said and they fought over. Now, it makes her press down on the urge to school her face, to make sure her little prince never sees how she hurts inside so much, how is simultaneously happy and terrified and angry.

" It is noth- " she quickly corrects herself when she notes the tension in him, the subtle way he holds his breath and his eyes start to harden- " It is not something I wish to trouble you with, Henry. Not- " she struggles. It is only the desperate fear of losing him again that makes her able to continue talking. And even then , the words are stilted and she is weak enough that she needs the slight pain of her nails in her own skin to be able to continue. " It is not that I do not trust you – or think you incapable. But you are young -and you deserve to be happy" she smiles self-deprecatingly. " Not burdened by your mother's faults".

He bites on his lips. " I don't think I mind your faults. I am not- " she wonders whether he inherited her disability to be able to speak about emotions freely , or whether it is just that he finds it difficult to bring them under words. " I am not talking about the stuff you did in the enchanted forest, but the small things. You tried to hide you were afraid or in pain or uncertain and that kind of sucks? I just want you to be honest".

" I am. Henry, I will try so very hard to always be truthful to you know".

He grins again. She inhales sharply and widens her eyes a little to stop herself from crying. She is not losing him, she finally admitted everything and – for now , at least- it seems that it will not cause her to lose him. She might be able to truly win, for once. (because what else is winning if not keeping on to this thing she has built with Henry and Emma, sometimes she is terrified to name- lest it is truly what she has been searching for all this time, and she has only found it now she stands to lose _everything._ )

" I notice" it takes her two seconds to lead her thoughts away from that dark place they sometimes go to, that terrifying w _hat will I lose this time_ , and remember. It is good that he knows she is trying, that he hopefully knows she would try anything if it meant keeping her son.

" Good. That is- I am glad".

"Yeah, me too" he looks at her, hesitates and asks " are you okay, mom?".

" I am fine" when he mirrors her you-are-not-fooling-me-your-homework-is-unfinished look, she adds "I am not fibbing, my dear"

He looks at her for several seconds, then slowly nods. " Kay" after a short hesitation, he points at the page, then looks back up at her with a small grin. "Do you have all the information?".

" What kind of information, Henry?".

He shrugs. " About the townspeople. Their enchanted forest counterparts, what your curse took from them, what would give them a happy ending now… we need as much information as possible if we want to help them".

" I am afraid I do not follow, Henry. How is this going to destroy the curse?".

He bites his lip again. " Well. I started thinking. At first, all of this- " she is stuck, hallway between exasperation and fondness, when he makes a vague gesture " was just really simple- it was easy to see who was wrong and what had to happen, you know? It was kind of like in the comics".

He is silent for a beat, then swallows. She is already half-standing, ready to engulf him in a hug (if he will let her) before she can even be sure it is tears in his eyes. His next words surprise her ( and something else. Guilt, perhaps?) " I didn't really think – I am still not sure I believe you. Not about Snow and Charming anyways. But maybe- heroes can make bad choices so I guess I started thinking about what they would d- _do_ ".

She unfreezes, speed walks to him and opens her arms at the moment he jumps up, enabling him to hug her tightly. She can hear him – not crying, exactly. Perhaps he is trying not to cry. _Please do not believe you need to hide your pain from me, mi Corazon. Not ever._ She could try herself, but it would be pointless.

" I am so mad at you. I am so mad. But I don't want to lose you".

She squeezes him. " Jamás, mi cielo".

He squeezes back. She can feel him calm slightly and she has to fight herself not to pull him back when he slowly starts to pull away. Wiping away his tears is so instinctual she cannot fight it , though. Fortunately, he doesn't comment on it. Hardly squirms.

"You can't be evil anymore".

She opens her mouth, ready to protest, to say she never really _was,_ she isn't the only one who made mistake, precious Snow White is as rotten as she seems innocent and pure- " They will take you from me. And I can't – I can't- " he pales and trembles and a part of her rears up like a spitting cobra and screams _ungrateful! Ten years, I loved you._ The other part rears back like a beaten dog, wants to reach for him.

She compromises. Her hand is on his shoulder and the words could be harsh- could be, but they aren't. " Would you truly abandon me?"

" If the curse breaks and you're still- " he points at the book. " that. Then I can't – mom, I know you can do better. I have seen it".

She just nods, presses her hand to her stomach as he moves away and sits down again. The atmosphere is still tense, her throat is closed and Henry looks close to tears (angry? sad?) himself. But it is nothing compared to the hatred ( _I don't think he hated you. That kid loves you, Regina, and far too much to ever hate you. Even if you were the evil queen_ ) of before.

Henry slowly moves the notebook to her. " Take a look at it".

She is just as careful, nearly mechanic, terrified that their peace is like glass, will break as soon as she dares to breathe too loudly. " You still have not told me what the information is for, Henry".

She nearly shudders with relief as Henry relaxes and seems almost normal as he takes a large bite of what is left of his sandwich and chews before swallowing. The only thing that isn't ordinary, is how he looks awkward and slightly nervous as he looks again. "One page before this one".

He starts to explain as she reads.

" I got the idea when Emma got hurt during the fight with Frollo - you were screaming at her and I thought it was anger at first, but then you were healing her and let her stay the night. And I know I was supposed to go to bed, but I lingered and I heard you comfort m- Emma when she was upset about something"

He takes this moment to glance at her, obviously expecting a reprimand. And he probably should get one, because she had a reason for wanting him upstairs, far away from very complicated matters. Henry might have thought Frollo had merely been inebriated and resisted arrest (which is what Regina had told him) but that had not been everything at all. Even Regina hadn't gotten everything out of Emma- who grimaced as she rubbed at her bloody knuckles and seemed frail and livid at the same time- but it had been enough to nauseatingly take her back to a too-big bed and an old man that pretended he had just forced her into marriage for his darling daughter's sake.

There had been a reason the curse had made Frollo one of the town's garbage collectors, the proud man forced to clean rubble to rest of his cursed life, without knowing why he had chosen a job he hated like this and thought beneath him- but apparently it had not been enough to beat him. He had somehow managed to scramble enough money (perhaps steal it) to buy drinks for himself. Emma had not just found him 'shitfaced' but also trying to feel up a young woman ( 'she was like fucking eighteen, Regina, and that slimy, ancient _fucking_ \- ) that obviously didn't know how to make him stop. They both had not wanted to tell Henry the sickening details of what had truly happened, so had decided to give him the gist of what had happened.

The night had ended with both of them unsettled, and a stark awareness of the understanding and similarities between them.

 _What did you hear? Please, not anything that will-_

"I was already getting ready to storm downstairs when you sat down next to Emma and you somehow- you made her smile for the first time in hours. And I thought , 'that's it' . "he finally breathes again- good, she was already starting to worry he would choke- and smiles with red cheeks and glinting eyes.

She glances at the notebook:

 **Operation out,**

 **Stage:** **I.**

 **Name: Redemption.**

"We are going to redeem you"

"Redeem. Me?"

" Yeah. Read the notebook!"

 **Specifics: Redeeming mom - returning to heroics.**

 **Strategies: bring back the townspeople's happy endings. Charity? Search for people that could be mom's friends (no villains!) in town.**

 **Necessities: more information. Mom?**

She turns to the next page. Breaths her nose, once, before she forces herself to read it. **Snow white. Enchanted forest : princess Snow White Storybrooke : Mary Margaret (Teacher. Emma's friend) Curse: separated from true love. Happy ending: family. Strategy: ask mom where prince Charming is.** She flips the page, has only a quick moment of relief before she is fighting the urge to roll her eyes again. **Prince Charming. Enchanted forest: Shepherd David. Prince James/Charming Storybrooke : ? Happy ending: family.**

She turns several more pages. Some hold actual names – Red riding hood, Jiminy cricket, Gepetto-, others are descriptions- the scary woman from the convent, the super nice man at the stables, the woman that mom buys roses for – and others could be a _nyone_ ( shop lady, gardener). There are definitely of them however. So many, in fact, that she wonders whether she half-teasingly, half-exasperatedly asks " Do we require another curse, so we receive the 28 years it will take to _help_ all these people?".

" Mom! You promised".

" I know. It is just- " she glances at the pages again, then sighs " a very long list".

" That's because you weren't lazy enough to cast a curse over less than an entire country".

" It had nothing to do with laziness- even though that certainly should not be excused and- ".

" Mom. There are more important things, like happy endings and the curse _breaking"_

"right. So who should we help?".

Henry fidgets a little. " You know, there is a reason their names were first".

" Henry, I can't- ".

He swallows. "They're my- they're I want to meet them".

She has gotten used to 'sharing' him with Emma, but from the way she clenches her fist like there is a heart in it, the clank! Of her teeth as she snaps her jaw and the throbbing at her head, she knows she is not ready to share Henry with the two idiots. The very thought makes thoughts creep into her head, images of the shepherd's body, of how easy it would be to stop those machines attached to him, of how she could tell a white lie about an insane teacher snapping, of how wonderful it would be to have Snow-

" M-mom" it is Henry's voice, quiet and desperate like she can't ever remember hearing it that makes it stop. She blinks slowly, tries a smile, wonders why that feels so unfamiliar and odd. He swallows. " You were being really weird".

" … Weird?" she says it like she is only barely awake.

For a heart-stopping moment, she thinks he will run. He glances at the door almost desperately, his hands are clutched around the seat of his chair, he is leaning forward, entire body tense. Then he narrows his eyes slightly, and she almost wishes he would run. It would almost be easier to bear than the disgust and loathing she expects to follow.

" You had this crazy expression. Like- " his eyes widen. " The curse is unravelling. Does that mean- are you, are you turning back into the Evil Queen?".

"Henry, no! " she takes a deep breath to sound more normal, not like _that._ " I am your mother. That is all I require to be".

" I don't believe you. I know you still hate them".

" But I love you"

" Proof it. Proof you I can trust you".

She grits her teeth, flexes her fingers like that will make the flames appear. " You wish me to help _her_ ".

" I knew it, I knew you wouldn't do it, I knew you didn't love - " it is the pain in her baby's eyes that makes her able to stop flexing her fingers, trying to summon fire, and instead walk over to him and bend over. It is like a knife in her stomach all over again when he pushes at her hands, glares at her.

" Henry. I do love you. No matter what your insipid teacher tells you, no matter what _anyone_ tells you- I love you. I love you more than anything".

"But you won't help them ?"

She breathes in, out. Then nods, once. It is more of a jerk really. A spasm. But it is enough for Henry, whose face immediately brightens as he gives her a tentative smile. "Really? You will help them?".

One of her mother's favourite punishments was to wrap belts so tightly around her legs that she could feel the blood stop flowing. She feels like something similar has happened to her face right now. " Yes"

" You swear".

" Yes, I promise – there is just one issue Henry"

"You can't immediately take it back! You swore i-".

" If I reunite the two morons , their - " it is like swallowing cold medicine, honestly . " _true love_ might break the curse. At which point everyone in this town will remember just how much they despise me".

Henry looks conflicted for a moment, before nodding. " We need to redeem you first. If everyone knows you've changed, that you have helped them- they should forgive you, right? I mean, that's what heroes would do…" he trails off, and she smiles at how much he resembles his younger self. Henry, aged four, was exactly like this on his first day of school: scared and uncertain- yet determined to show he was 'brave' and 'like an adult'.

She smiles at him like she did then, and knows he remembers as well when she says the exact same thing she did then " It is fine to be uncertain , and scared sometimes Henry".

" Yeah. I know" he swallows. " So .. we can't reunite Snow White with her prince? ".

She nearly grates her teeth, before she catches herself and instead only sneers. " Oh , we could. It just would uncertain _their_ victory and my undoing ".

" I don't want you to be hurt. But- we can't leave gr- Snow like this, can we?".

more grating than nails on a blackboard, or the alarm clock going off, but only grimaces before answering. "I suppose I might know of a way to improve the state of Snow's mental health" she admits. The anger at helping Snow diminishes at the nearly giddy smile her son throws her.

"Really?"

" Yes. My vault still holds potion ingredients, as well as grimoires. I am unable to access my magic – but most potions will still function".

" So you have one that could help gr- Snow?".

"Well, the easiest solution would be to hand her a forgetting-".

" NO!" she can almost hear Henry thinking of a 'nice' way to tell her he doesn't trust her. It still stings- even if she acknowledges her slight smirk at the idea probably is partly the cause of his vehement declaration.

" We can't do that to her. Do you know anything else?".

She sighs. Pity. "I have an idea. It will not be a permanent solution- but it might give us enough time to prepare".

" How much time?".

"I have no idea. I never prepared for the curse breaking".

" Well, you must have prepared _something_. Some sort of plan, or failsafe " Henry throws her the look of a ten-year-old boy who knows his mother very well, knows she has several agenda's, was already researching college when he was just nine years old and is generally what a certain blonde woman would call a " control freak".

 _I cannot be untruthful. If he suspects another lie, I might lose his affection permanently. But if I admit what was my 'failsafe'- he could never accept that._ " Henry, I am not certain whether- ".

He narrows his eyes. " Mom. What was the failsafe?".

" You have to understand, it was-".

" Oh. My. God. It was to murder the saviour, was it not?".

" No- " he slumps in his chair for a moment, before her words make him straighten and glare. " That would have been foolish, considering that may have destroyed the curse as well".

" Mom! ".

" I am merely being truthful! And for the react- I did not have a concrete plan. I figured I would capture the saviour, hold her prisoner and eventually discover how to solve that particular conundrum".

" Conun-what?".

"Conundrum. It means 'puzzle, or challenge'.

" I can't believe you wanted to keep E- " he freezes. " So uh – what- what made you change your mind!" she knows it is just a question meant to divert her attention, but she answers regardless.

" You" she smiles automatically, as she thinks of how tiny and strong and perfect he had been. " I got you and- I decided the curse breaking was a prize willing to pay if it meant I had the chance to be your mother".

They're both quiet for a while, smiling at each other. Henry's smile is small, and far more hesitant, but she attempts to only focus on the fact that he is even smiling at all. She has had to miss those smiles for ages, and then had to be content with smiles he tried to morph into glares as soon as he realized he was smiling at her. It has only been recently that smiles have once again become something Henry gives to her regularly.

" I am glad. That you choose me"

She looks up from where she had been staring at Daniel's ring. Stares at him for a moment, something tight and painful in her chest and crawling up her throat. It is odd- how people can hurt this much, and yet be so incredibly happy at the same time. " I am- " her voice actually cracks, so she clears it. " I am very happy too, Henry".

" Even if – even if I turned out to not be what you hoped?".

" _Henry._ Mi Corazon, you are everything I could have possibly hoped for- you are certainly more than I would ever have dared to hope for" she teasingly adds " Although I certainly did not wish for a son who believes cleaning your room means hiding dirty clothing and everything else you ought to clean, beneath your bed " .

"I was in a hurry. And I had other, more important things to do"

She shakes her head. " Henry, I know-".

"And my room is clean now anyways. More or less. Can we continue with the curse business?"

"I somewhat doubt that. And yes, that is fine".

He tugs the notebook towards him again, grabs the pen on her desk and starts writing. When he is done, he turns the notebook so she can read: **Operation 'Out'. Stage 1, Redemption. Phase: Nostos.**

" Nostos as in lake Nostos?".

" Uh-huh. Because that's healing water. And now we are going to heal her too!" he grins. "Besides, I think it sounds pretty cool. Don't you think?".

"It does sound quite 'cool', Henry" she sounds so uncomfortable and uncertain for a moment that Henry snorts. He tries to apologize again, but then ends up laughing uncontrollably. Which, in turn, makes her laugh again.

Soon , they are nearly choking on laughter without fully knowing why. It feels like old times.

* * *

Henry truly must have superpowers.

It is the only explanation. That, or she has finally lost her sanity and/or her common sense. Whatever the cause, it is still completely preposterous, inconceivable and infuriating. She is having lunch. That is not inconceivable- some foolish townspeople might make jokes about how she is a cyborg and only half-joke, but she does actually require food to survive. Like anyone.

No, what is inconceivable is that she is having lunch with Mary Margaret. Or Snow White, for this woman is not the meek teacher that would stammer and then somehow manage to talk back to her for approximately ten seconds, before flushing slightly and apologizing.

This is not that woman. There is nothing slightly naïve , empathic and lonely about this woman. Snow stares at her, eyes slightly narrowed. Usually, the way her fingers tremble where they are clutched around the hot chocolate, would satisfy Regina but there is something undefinable in her stomach. She feels unsettled, and it is worse than just sitting across her enemy.

"Miss Mills? " Snow prods, her eyes still slightly narrowed. Regina is distracted by the bags she has failed to hide with make-up, the way her face is sunken in, the burst veins in her eyes… it should make her happy, or satisfied. It should at the very least make her feel there's justice in the world. She does something very different.

"I will be right back". She tells herself to just return to where she can feel Snow staring at her, to get this over with, but for some reason she doesn't. She leans over the counter slightly, sighing and rolling her eyes and feeling oddly like it is all a show. Ruby stares at her when she orders, and stares even more when she remains there to wait for the food.

She places the two extra plates of fries and hamburger in front of the menace. "Eat. You look like you will faint any moment, or get carried away by the wind".

" I – no thank you. I am fine"

"You obviously are not".

Regina stiffens, the feeling in her stomach now replaced with frost. She can feel her heartbeat speed up- that eye-roll and the expression? That's not Mary- Margaret, that's Snow.

" The entire town knows that" Regina relaxes slightly; that sounds more like Mary Margaret than Snow.

" True. Which is partly why I asked for this meeting".

" I am concerned about my son's education, miss Blanchard".

It cannot be good for her heart, having it race, slow down, race.. Mary-Margaret would never lower her hot chocolate like that , tilt her head and give her a look that suggests the woman has a backbone. " I would never allow my students to suffer, because I- I- " it is like a flashlight with half a battery, honestly. The slight stammer and the way she holds herself, shoulders drawn together, is all Mary Margaret again.

" And how do you presume to do that? Your .. condition seems to only have worsened".

As Mary-Margaret stammers out a reply to that, Regina opens the flask she had kept hidden. As soon as the woman in front of her is distracted, she empties the bottle in a mug of hot chocolate. She is quick. No one notices. Snow White brings the cup to her lips- and drinks what she just thinks is just hot chocolate.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own OUAT.**

 **Somewhere in the months that have passed, Regina let Belle go. I am going to write a chapter that explores the months I now sort of skipped over/ summarized in the first chapter, and that will include Regina letting Belle go. Don't know when that will be up.**

 **Sorry for the long wait & I hope you enjoy! **

**(also really sorry for still not having edited the rest, I haven't forgotten. I am just really bad at not postponing editing forever)**

Regina paces, and curses and wrings her hand together- what she wouldn't do for a fireball or a sleeping curse right now- and is generally behaving as a wild animal that is caught and shoved into a too-small cage. The only thing that is keeping her from snapping at every single person she encounters, from telling Marco just how dissatisfied she is with the door he repaired (Emma wasn't allowed to come over for days after foolishly destroying it) and answering Archie's smile and 'it is a fine day, is it not? ' with several well-placed jabs, is Henry's face in her mind.

 _He will despise me, all over again. I will lose him._

It is made slightly easier by the fact that she actually been more cordial these past months, that she has allowed Emma to drag her to a girl's night, and chatted with Ruby whenever she was in the diner. That she has accepted Archie's chit-chat with only the bare minimum of scorn, and actually allowed Pongo to stay with them when he was ill. But still, it is like an itch somewhere she can't scratch, and she is glad when she is home and no longer has to feign smiles and pleasantness at the entire town.

" Mom! How did it go, is she okay, _¿Qué pasó?" a voice that has Regina's tense muscles relax slightly says, and Henry skids to a stop in front of her. For a moment she thinks he is going to hug her, and she is already smiling in anticipation, but then he hesitates._

 _She realizes she probably has a frightful look on her face, as she dropped the pretence when she entered her home. " Yes. Everything went- " Regina can't bring herself to say well. It didn't go_ _well_ _, she will be giving Snow her happiness. She will be giving the loathsome little snitch – " I slipped the potion in Mary Margaret's drink "._

 _"Yes! So how long will it take? Wil she already be better tomorrow?"_

 _Regina shakes her head. " No, mi cielo. It will be a slow progress. Things will make more sense to her however, and she will no longer be quite as troubled"._

 _Her stomach calms when Henry smiles brightly at her, and she even manages a smile back. " That's awesome! Good job, mom"._

 _Regina just nods, jerkily. Henry doesn't seem to notice, pretty much bouncing with enthusiasm. She is startled when he suddenly grabs her hand, and starts to pull her towards the study. " come on, we got to discuss the rest of the plan"_

 _She stares down at his hand. Even though he has slowly warmed up to her throughout the months, he still has been hesitant with the shows of affection that were once so normal between them. Just that small fact, the way he unthinkingly grabs her hand and pulls her with him and keeps_ _smiling_ _at her is enough for her stomach to settle._

 _He only lets her go when they are at the study, and immediately runs towards her desk. They've cleverly hidden the book where Emma would never think to look; between paperwork. Henry very nearly throws it all on the floor in his enthusiasm, but catches himself at the last moment._

 _He grins at her. " Sit down, mom"_

 _Mom._ _Regina very nearly grins herself, but instead just smiles at him. "All right, mijo"_

 _After she has closed the door and sat down, Henry immediately shoves the book in her direction. "I did my job as well" he tells her happily_

 _She arches an eyebrow. "I was unaware you had a job"_

 _" My job is to make the plans , to figure out ways to bring back the happy endings" he tells her._

" You are very good at that, mi cielo" Regina just says, staring down at the additions. If only Henry put this much thought and energy in his homework, as the result is impressive. He managed to write down at the names and specifics of at least fifty people, and has marked their connection to each other in a way that is somehow understandable and structured.

There are suggestions for happy ending's, for things that could lead to happy endings. There are couples that were separated, their names connected to each other by rainbows. There are people who used to be friends ( Regina very nearly scowls when she sees Snow's name connected to her little pet wolf with a lot of arrows pointing at it).

" Did you stay up late for this?"

Henry shifts uneasily on his chair. " That doesn't matter "

" Henry Daniel Mills, sleep deprivation- "

" Mom, we only have like a few months to do this, right?" he interrupts her

She shakes her head. " I do not- the curse was never supposed to _break_ "

" Okay, but don't you have an idea of what will happen? You knew of the prophecy and everything right, so you must know something"

" I – " Regina tries to think, to focus back on that moment before the curse. But she can't think of anything, apart from the feelings she had thought were excitement and anticipation, and- well. She can hardly tell Henry what her 'solution' for the issue the savior posed was. " I have no idea. The curse was never truly mine, Rumple handed it to me".

" Rumple- "

" Mister Gold. Rumpelstiltskin"

" Can we ask him? "

" _No_ " her voice is so harsh that Henry immediately flinches, and Regina feels her throat close when his expression becomes that awful mix of distrust and hatred and betrayal again for a second.

" He is dangerous- he is more dangerous to you than anyone else in this town, and possibly this world"

Henry still glares at her. " Why don't you want me to talk to him, is it because he can _help_?"

" Even if he could, he would not. And even if he would, it would only appear he was helping. Right until the moment you realized that you have crossed all the lines you promised yourself you would never cross. And perhaps you would still think he had just helped you"

Henry stops glaring. " But maybe he could- ".

" No, Henry. I forbid you to even think about asking that – to ask him for help"

" But he might know something! And if he knows anything, it could buy us time or – I don't know, it could at least make this easier".

" Henry, I will ground you if you- "

He jumps up, and she actually doubts whether magic is truly gone. Surely, only her heart being ripped from her chest and crushed to dust would hurt as much as the expression Henry levels at her. " I knew it. You're not even trying!" he spits, and runs away.

She doesn't even stand up. She doesn't scream or follow him. She doesn't make the same mistake she has been making for so long, for once, and doesn't close off and force him to remain safe.

She just sits there, and waits.

* * *

 _She can't breathe. Hands- on her body, wrinkled and digging into her, clutching her like the possession she is to them. Hands, around a softly glowing heart, and her heartbeat must be screaming- but all the other hearts in the rooms are louder. Hands, everywhere she goes, they burst through the ground and grab her ankles. The ground is bodies, her air is earth and there's maggots on her-_

"Mom?"

She startles awake without a sound on her lips and with her entire body frozen. She has been conditioned to have nightmares like they're just dreams, and that is why Henry just smiles at her without the slightest hint he knows her head can't stop thinking are hands are bloody, and there is a crushing weight on top of her.

She has to get rid of the urge to run towards the shower, and scrub for so long and with so much force her skin will be chafed. She struggles to force a smile, and reminds herself that Henry isn't _them_ ,and that there's no reason to snap or to push him away. Nor too hold on too tightly- she has made that mistake.

"It is the middle of the night, why- "

He frowns. "It's morning"

She swallows. She would think her dry throat was caused by screaming, but Regina has not screamed after a nightmare since she was ten. She doesn't know whether Cora used actual magic- or whether it was just the terror of another punishment for being a 'foolish girl' that stopped it all. "What?" she croaks

"I had another idea? If you - " he falters, and she blindly reaches for his hand.

" No, that's - just let me get my robe and clean up a little, all right".

He nods. " okay" he grins at her. " Emma is already in the kitchen though, I have told her we are working on a special operation for her. She thinks it is for her birthday"

" That's nice" Regina replies distractedly, and slowly gets out of the bed. It is only when she has thrown cold water over her wrists and inhaled deeply several times that she feels better. She almost breaks another mirror, because how can she still let these foolish dreams impact her like this?

She should know better

She knows better. Especially because breaking the mirror will lead to Emma barging upstairs, and asking annoying questions and looking at her like she _knows._ And Henry will – she doesn't know. He no longer sits at the kitchen counter, staring down at his cereal with an angry frown and leaving abruptly, but he isn't her little boy who would kiss her head because 'it's magic, mami, you always tell me. You feel better' anymore either.

She so calms down, doesn't destroy anything, and goes downstairs where Emma is being a fool like usually. It actually makes Regina smile, a genuine one that is very rare after nightmare-memories, how Emma is showing Henry how much cereal can fit into her mouth.

" We are not dogs, so we eat from bowls and not floors" Regina scolds lightly, stepping fully into the room

Emma just turns to her, mumbling something. Regina questions her sanity, honestly, as she has to force down a smile. " Miss Swan, despite my earlier misgivings, you are _not_ animal so what is this?".

Emma swallows half of the cereal, and Regina grimaces as she spits the rest in a bowl. " Just a challenge, something I assume you've heard of madam mayor".

" I seem to be hearing one right now" she replies, as Emma's tone can indeed be described as 'challenging'.

Emma grins at her. "Well… I challenge you, madam mayor, to actually take the kid and me for a delicious grease-filled lunch at Granny's today".

" And why do you think I would be persuaded to do that?".

" Simple " Emma nods in Henry's direction. " It would make your son very happy".

Regina freezes for a moment, and maybe Emma really has a superpower and it is knowing the way Regina thinks. Maybe she really knows Regina immediately thinks she is being manipulated, and she won't allow it-

Maybe it's just how Regina has nearly hurt herself gritting her teeth.

" Of course, I could also do something _I_ don't usually do in return"

Regina relaxes. " Such as eating food with actual nutritional value, dear?".

Emma rolls her eyes. " I eat healthy stuff as well, don't pretend like I never eat fruit and such".

"I know for a fact you have not eaten most of the apples I have graciously allowed to take with you as a work snack".

"Regina. Apples are _not_ a snack. Chocolate is a snack. Donuts are a snack"

" Apples are a snack as well, as it _is_ a light meal ".

" Snacks are meant to be tasty. Apples aren't ".

"Miss Swan, _my_ apples are delicious"

Emma laughs. " You're not going to convince me. I am fine with eating apples, but I am not going to pretend I am crazy about th- "

Henry rolls his eyes when his mom ( the one with the apple obsession) leans and offers Emma a smirk. " Who said anything about pretending? "

" Are you challenging me, _madam_ mayor" Emma counters, straightening slightly and giving Regina a cocky smirk.

" Yes. I can, and I _will_ , make you love my apples".

Emma snorts. " Is this the moment you admit to pouring a love potion in my cup? "

Henry studies his mom with interest. He is sure she would have bristled at it even months ago, but now there is only a flash of discomfort before she counters with " I do not require love potions, just _skill_ "

Henry grimaces, and looks away. He isn't really sure about what's happening in front of him, but he kind of wants to leave the room really badly when Emma flushes slightly and slowly licks her lips, and his mom responds by biting her lip slightly and giving Emma a look that –

He slams the book down on the counter, and immediately starts talking. He just wants them to stop –

Sure, it's good for his super-secret s _econd_ operation, but whatever they're doing is kind of weird.

" So I got the book" he says happily

Emma blinks. He sneaks a quick look at his mom to see whether she has seen the split second of doubt and worry as well. Judging by her expression, she has. " I thought you were kind of done with the uh.. final battle" Emma says, glancing at Regina.

"Well- " he shrugs. "I can't be. Because the prophecy said it is coming so we have to prepare right? Just like you need to prepare to fight the final boss- "

" Which game?".

" Any of them. And all the heroes have to prepare too, you know. Captain America needed the serum and Wonder woman had to train really long and Superman didn't _just_ become superman"

" Got it. Being a hero is hard work" Emma says.

He nods. " Yup. And it's even more difficult for team Swan-Mills- "

" Team Swan-Mills?"

Henry nods. " That's how I called us. You have the justice league and I first thought of something like 'the curse breakers' but- " he shrugs. " I don't know. I am still working on the name honestly"

Emma friendly pushes him. " I like it" her voice is oddly hoarse.

" You do? "

She just nods, and then quickly gulps down most of her hot chocolate. He stares at her for another second before deciding it just must be another weird thing, and looks at his other mom. " Mom?"

" I – " for a moment, he fears she will protest against the Swan part, saying that Emma isn't his mom. But she just swallows, and then whispers " I am part of your team?"

"No, it's a random person with our name" he grins at her. " Of course you are".

" But I am- "

"You are my mom" he says

" Yes?".

He swallows, and nods. " Yeah" he doesn't add that he is still so unspeakably mad, and he is all confused because he knows the person from the book should be locked up so she can't hurt anyone anymore but his mom is just the one who sings Spanish lullabies to him after bad dreams. And it's all- all he knows is she can't be hurt.

His mom doesn't say anything, just rushes towards him and hugs him like they haven't in ages. Usually she holds on too tightly or too carefully, like he is going to run or break. Now it's just like it used to be, and he didn't even realize how much he missed the way things were before lies and storybooks until he can pretend, just for a moment, nothing has changed at all ( apart from Emma. Emma is a good change, a really good one)

She finally pulls back and touches his chin. " Mi principito "she whispers.

" Si" he just says, not knowing what else to say.

" Fuerte, Bueno y cariñoso " she says, like she has a million times before.

He only hesitates a moment before giving the reply, the first words coming out like he is stuttering, but the last ones are strong and steady. " Como mi mamá me enseñó"

She smiles at him, for a really long time, until he slowly walks away and points at the book. Her smile drops, but not the one in her eyes. " So we need to find the rest of the happy endings. That is why I started this family meeting".

" Right" Emma mutters

" We need to find all the people that are someone's happy ending- '

" Wait" Emma interrupts

He glares at her, but she doesn't seem to take the hint. "Why would a happy ending be a _person_? That seems kind of really unhealthy "

Regina and Henry both stare at her, and Emma looks kind of uncomfortable but mostly really incredulous. "I mean, it is kind of crappy to expect someone to be your happy ending. That's a lot of responsibility to force on a person's shoulders, and why would you want it? Why can a happy ending be realizing your dreams?"

"For some people, finding true love and building a family is the greatest dream, miss Swan" Regina says

" And that's fine, but you shouldn't make it into a duty. I just don't think it's a good idea to expect so much from a person, it's just not realistic"

" But true love works that way " Henry insists

" I don't – I don't know about true love, kid. But usually, if one person thinks another person _needs_ to be that much, the relationship isn't really equal. Sounds exhausting to me".

Henry narrows his eyes. " Wait. You mean something else can be a happy ending? ".

" I mean, why not? Love is important, but there are other things too"

Henry slowly looks at his mom. " She might be on to something" he says

Regina arches an eyebrow. " Odd, is it not?".

Emma just rolls her eyes, and takes the opportunity to steal Henry's cup. They're soon all laughing, right until the moment Emma grabs Regina and yells at Henry to 'get her too' ( a reference to the whipped cream Emma smeared on Henry's face when he giggled about the 'mustache' that the whipped cream had created )

Soon, Regina has convinced Henry to help her and really- Emma can't win when the diabolical geniuses join forces.

* * *

Regina stares at the book, the one that hasn't that many pages left and really how is her son doing it? She still thinks he must be staying up, but she has been checking in on him nightly and nothing. Her son is always just sleeping.

"Read it" he commands, happily eating the small mountain of waffles he managed to convince Regina to make.

She stares at it, at the new additions. At her own face, and that little brat's( _Snow_ ) and-

" Henry, where did you those pictures?".

Henry shrugs. "I told people I was doing a project. And someone helped getting them developed".

" Emma was involved in this?".

" No" he huffs a little. " I thought she would tell you, so I asked someone else. But they're going to be secret".

" Henry, if- ".

" They are my Robin"

" You have never before aspired to be batman, and I have never heard of him developing pictures for mr Wayne"

"Well, he is my sidekick and part of his job is helping me with this".

" All right. Did you also happen to borrow my wallet?".

" What- "

She taps one of the pictures. " I recognize this one. It is the one I keep in my wallet, the one I have been searching for, the same one you told me must have disappeared"

" I needed a picture" Henry protests

" You could have _asked._ Stealing is not right Henry"

" Can you still scold me now that I know you've done really bad things? Doesn't that mean - "

" Henry Daniel Mills, you can justify nothing that way"

" But – "

" _No_ "

Regina's heart is hammering, and she is already trying to compose herself, using her usual tricks to keep her emotions from showing when Henry just shrugs and smiles. " It was worth a try "he says , giggling slightly, like his mother isn't braced for angry words and angrier glares.

Regina very slowly relaxes. " That was not right either" she scolds, but she is too relieved to make her tone properly strict so Henry just grins at her and pushes the book even more her way.

"Have you read it?".

"I was " she says, continuing to study the pictures and the comments. Most only have a few lines, but some have paragraphs. She pauses at a familiar one. "How did you convince miss Ratched to pose for this picture, mijo? " Regina knows the woman isn't exactly fond of pictures, nor is she amicable to a lot of people. Besides, she has strict instructions to _immediately_ inform Regina if Henry ever visits the asylum.

" My side-kick helped" he just says, and then immediately adds (with a small frown, but she knows that he is just thinking, and not upset) " where do you know her from ?"

" I beg your pardon?"

" The nurse. Were you friends, or something?".

Regina suddenly remembers fingers gently pulling her hair free from a braid, and a no-nonsense tone telling her to get in the tub. "Not quite" she answers, and now she remembers surging forward, and dry lips against her own and-

She clears her throat. "When I had just become queen, she was in charge of the staff. She sometimes took over the duties of one of my handmaidens, and we talked occasionally" more often, the woman gave her orders, wiped her tears away and came up with things she could do, anything that would calm her down.

" Oh. And when you ki- " Henry flushes, and looks away for several moments before gritting his teeth a little and saying " and when Snow was on the run?".

" She was still part of my staff " she just answers

"What about the roses?" he questions

She stares at him. How on earth does he know that?

" Does it have anything to do with Beauty and the beast – " he stares at her. "Was she your girlfriend?".

Regina nearly chokes on air, and instead straightens in her chair and places her hand on her stomach. _Gods, how do I explain this without traumatizing him?_ She has given Henry some information, but she hasn't really discussed sex with him yet. And she most _certainly_ has not discussed relationships of women who honestly can't love as they're too consumed with rage and pain, but who still have needs and some sort of twisted fondness for-

"uh, mom?"

" My apologies. I have not finished- "

" You are not going to make an excuse about how you need to finish reading, come on mom"

"Why do you wish to know?"

He shrugs. "I am curious. You never really talk about any of it. You have never told me much about what you were like growing up, and stuff".

"I suppose so "

"So? Girlfriend? "he prompts

"Something like that"

He frowns. " How can someone something _like_ a girlfriend?".

"I was not really in the right state of mind to be a proper girlfriend, Henry "

" Okay, but- " she is sure he will ask about it again, most likely when she is in the middle of something, but he drops it for now. " Do you recognize any of the other people?"

She studies the pictures for a while, then taps one of them and pushes the notebook back to Henry. " That woman. Her head used to be one a wanted poster".

"What, why? She is really nice! "

"She was a thief, and all the royals were furious as she had a habit of slipping inside their castles or arriving at their balls and stealing from them- only to hand it back to the peasants, and help them hide it".

" Wait. Steal from the rich, give to the – is she _maid Marian_?"

Regina arches her eyebrow. "She is"

"Cool!" Henry is sort of bouncing on his chair, he is that excited. " Did she steal a lot?".

"Henry, this is not an inappropriate role model".

" But mom - capitalism is _bad_ "

"What does capitalism have to do with this?".

"Just everything. You and the other royals, so a small amount of people, had a very large percentage of the money available while the other people, a really large amount of people, only had a small percentage. That's what it's like now, _too,_ and capitalism is the blame and everything is bad. And Marian had to steal from the rich to make it right again, see? ".

Regina narrows her eyes. " Who told you all this?".

"Uhm, should we discuss something- ".

"Henry"

" Emma "he mumbles.

Regina makes a low sound of displeasure.

" Mom?"

" Yes?" Regina answers, with no small amount of apprehension

" Are you a .. capitalist?" Henry says the word carefully, and very softly. And then immediately talks while she is still trying to overcome the ridiculousness. " Because.. I won't hate you for it! I can understand, with you being a villai- with having been the evil queen and all, that capitalism might seem like it's a good thing. I have that with really large chocolate milkshakes. It might seem good to drink it, but then my stomach will ache. So if you like capitalism, I will help you".

Regina just stares at Henry, and exhales slowly. " Thank you" she finally just says, after opening her mouth several times and imagining the rather intense discussion that would follow. She has never truly minded answering Henry's questions and talking to him about all manner of things for a long time, but she also is _not_ in the mood for a conversation about capitalism.

(especially because the last time she actually had a long conversation with Henry about some idea Emma put in his head, it turned out that Emma had bribed him, for a reason Regina frustratingly still has to discover)

He just nods. " That's okay"

Regina massages her temple.

"So we know maid Marian and – " he mumbles something and Regina is already opening her mouth to protest the addition of 'mom's girlfriend!' to nurse Ratched's name, when she just gives up. She doesn't _want_ to explain to her pre-teen son that his mother has needs as well, and sometimes that is all people are to you. A way to feel less lonely, and less frustrated.

" But who are the others?" he narrows his eyes slightly. " And what are their happy endings?".

" I have no idea"

She stares at the book, then at her son. " Henry?".

" That's your job. To write down who everyone is".

"Henry, I did not know everyone. As you remember, I was not exactly the person people flocked to and wished to befriend. And on the few occasions I did allow people close to me, I often did not bother to even learn their names".

Henry stares at her, then looks at the book. "Okay, so we've got to interview everyone?".

Probably anticipating the sassy remark that is on the tip of his mother's tongue, Henry quickly adds " I mean, we could ask them about the weird dreams and everything?".

"And you think that would not look suspicious?"

Henry sighs. " This is going to be more difficult than I thought "he complains

Regina almost tells him that breaking a curse isn't _supposed_ to be easy. It is supposed to be as difficult as casting it, as ripping out the heart of the thing you love most and giving up a piece of your own heart. As living with an emptiness inside you, and doubting whether you made the right choice when the thrill fades and everything just seems so bleak.

It is supposed to be that difficult, and a saviour shouldn't have existed. She would have made sure –

She doesn't like to think about that. She certainly does not wish to remind Henry.

(gods forbid, she really does care for Emma Swan)

 _Carajo._

* * *

Emma has this awful habit of texting Regina random thoughts, or ideas, or stories. So that when Regina is supposed to be filling in paperwork, she instead spends an hour trying to proof that even homemade pizza is still unhealthy and that putting tomatoes on a pizza doesn't mean it's like eating salad, _seriously_ miss Swan. Or that time Emma had laugh so hard that when her appointment walked in, they nearly tripped over their own feet at the image of mayor Mills with coffee dripping down her chin and tears in her eyes.

(not to mention that one time she made a dozen mistakes during her presentation, too distracted by the picture Emma had sent her, of that new tank top and a rather horribly distracting stomach)

Regina is so used to it by now that when her phone lights up, she just turns it off and continues with her paperwork. If it is truly important, Emma will barge into her office. The woman still has no sense of boundaries sometimes after all.

As Emma does not barge in, or even leave a message with her secretary, Regina manages to work the entire day and only turns her phone on when she is certain if she is affected strongly again, at least she will not embarrass herself in front of the entire town council, nor will there by pesky rumours that will have to be destroyed.

She rolls her eyes when she realizes Emma has left a long stream of texts, obviously as impatient as th- as Henry.

 **So uh the kid had lunch with me?**

 **You know, which he sometimes does when you're too busy and we can't all have lunch together**

 **He had some interesting ideas**

 **Turns out he is still in the middle of an operation**

 **I think he has renamed it?**

 **Anyways.**

 **He talked to a lot of people**

 **Does the kid even know about stranger danger?**

 **I know the people here don't seem threatening, and everyone likes Henry but some of the people here I don't really like to be around him.**

 **But okay, so he came bursting into the station**

 **And had an entire presentation**

 **He is SO your son.**

 **So Regina 2.0. has spoken to the town, and listened to the people**

 **I didn't really get all of it, mostly because he kept talking about happy endings and how it was all my idea?**

 **Anyways- Belle wants to start a book club, and she already has this entire thing prepared for it**

 **Sounds pretty good actually, I think she is going to give the plan to your secretary**

 **She also has this NIGHTMARISH idea that we are all dying to hold a costumed ball?**

 **Don't worry, I already told her it wasn't really a good idea**

 **It didn't even end with anyone crying**

 **Madam mayor**

 **She still really wants it though**

 **Henry is really excited**

 **He has started 'research'**

 **Which means going through all his favourite comics and everything**

 **And trying to find someone to go as**

 **He suggested you go as wonder woman**

 **What would I need to do that get THAT to happen?**

 **; )**

 **He said there aren't many heroines**

 **Definitely not ones you like**

 **And apparently wonder woman is your favourite?**

 **I would have thought that would be someone more like Poison Ivy**

 **Then Henry changed his mind and decided I could be wonder woman**

 **Because of my superpower (he started rambling about the lasso of truth)**

 **And then decided I couldn't be a 'right' wonder woman**

 **Whatever the fuck that means**

 **He no longer thinks you should be wonder woman either**

 **He is now going through all his comics, and the TV series**

 **I think he is going to use the internet any moment now**

 **He thinks you should go as pirate**

 **Never mind**

 **APPARENTLY YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE THAT?**

 **Did you guys dress up for Halloween?**

 **Omg you did**

 **Henry told me**

 **Are there pictures?**

 **I am going to search for the pictures**

 **I found the pictures**

 **I am keeping them**

 **Urgh, you're in so few of them**

 **Are you dressed as Bellatrix?**

 **Do you still have that outfit?**

 **Do you still WEAR it?**

 **Regina?**

 **REGINA?**

 **I am pretty sure Henry has started a third operation**

 **He is really excited about this thing**

 **Are you going to wear another Bellatrix outfit**

 **She has multiple**

 **So you could**

 **Or if you want to keep it Harry Potter but still change a bit more**

 **A quidditch flying costume maybe?**

 **You know or Bellatrix**

 **Whatever**

 **You know we're going to have to do this**

 **Henry REALLY wants it**

 **We can't escape Regina**

Regina doesn't really like costumed balls, as _any_ ball reminds her too much of the enchanted forest. Of her mother enchanting her shoes to become more uncomfortable every time she made a mistake during dance lessons. Or of the times when Leopold's oppressive arm had been around her and Snow's chatter had been a constant, making the air hotter and the oxygen sparser, every time Regina had to accompany them to another ball ( or maybe even worse, the times she was left behind. Forgotten).

No, Regina does not enjoy balls.

But she still smiles, because Henry and Emma always make her smile. And she knows Henry will just be overjoyed if she says yes, and Emma will pretend to hate it and even dislike it but eventually she will have fun as well. And the town- the town might actually be grateful for something as exciting as this. Of course, the organization will be a nightmare and there is a certain risk that it will spur memories-

Regina is still almost excited.

It is because she wants her son happy

(it has nothing to do with the idea that she might be able to snatch a dance with Emma)

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, as it usually is.

Because she really does love her son, and her feelings for Emma are a mystery to a woman who cast a curse so dark it ruined something in her. She doesn't know whether she can call it love, but it definitely changed something in her.

She is happy now, happier even than she and Henry had been pre-Storybook, it has raised the stakes that much higher. Because either the curse will not break, and Henry will hate her, or the curse will break and she will get whatever is coming for her.

She knows either her heart will break again, or there will be nothing left of her to break.

 **The Spanish is supposed to mean this, in case you are interested:**

 **Regina : "Strong, good and loving"**

 **Henry: " Like my mom taught me".**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own OUAT. Okay, so I've thought about it again and I've decided to do all the editing stuff when the story is complete- unless people indicate that there are things that have to be edited immediately because it makes the reading difficult or a lot less enjoyable. I hope you guys think that is okay, and that you enjoy this chapter : )  
**

 _There are vines wrapped around her throat- no it's her mother's magic. It's her mother, in front of daddy and trying to- no it's – the face is suddenly hers, and those are her hands and – there's a hug, but not tears. The woman is stone- actual stone, so unlike the heart in her hand. The man drops, a corpse, and Regina grins-_

 _And shatters_

Regina shoots up in bed, gasping and panting, every breath hurting. Her pyjama is sticking to her because of all the sweat, and there are – she wipes the tears away, lays down again. Dreams about her father are not new, and he is often in her thoughts. And now, with the very thing she sacrificed him for unravelling, she is not surprised he has returned.

Still, it is far from pleasant. Even with that hole in her heart, her father's death was a sore subject. She might not have felt the pain, the remorse, at first but he wasn't there and that was difficult enough. Her father's kind words and unfailing presence in her life had been one of the only things she could hold onto and that he wasn't there, was wrong.

And now she can feel that regret and pain, and it makes her nights so much harder. It means she hardly sleeps, and there are ghosts haunting her when she does. She has always been dramatic, but that is just what it is- all the people she killed and the people that _could_ get killed because of her visiting her at night.

She has never felt more tired.

 _Blood on her hands, more blood on the ground than fits in one human body. Hay- the smell of it, and soft neighs. His hands- a hug, changing into a chokehold. Nothing but a monster, nothing but a monster- something he would never tell her, and he would definitely not whisper in her ear while choking her. She starts screaming when his face melts – and it becomes her own_

She wakes, again. Spends what might be hours, might be minutes tossing and gasping and clutching the sheets. Falls, again

 _Family dinner, laughter. Henry's – there is some joke. Emma smiling at her, sauce smeared all over that pretty face. A napkin, more laughter and jokes from Henry. The lights disappearing. The furniture around her disappearing. Just darkness, and a glimpse of Henry's pale, terrified face. The mob is on him- she is screaming and pushing and then he is the mob. Throwing his torch in front of her, chanting along with the others. Emma holds the –_

She grasps at her neck, for a moment expecting there to be nothing, just blood. But her head is still attached and the room is light- there is even a bird chirping, and she is relieved instead of annoyed. She has a reason to stumble out of bed now, and she pretends like it has nothing to do with her fingers that shake when she tries to disrobe, and everything with how she has things to do today.

She takes a quick shower, pulls on the outfit she allowed Henry to select last night ( he has decided she needs to dress 'softer' as well, so the people are less scared off her) and goes downstairs. For a very irrational second, she thinks she will see a torch and a bloodied sword but it's just her family. Goofing around, like usually.

Emma stops stealing bits of food from Henry's plate, and pretending to give it back to him only to pop it in her mouth, and grins at Regina. Henry snatches the piece of food she still has in her hand, and grins at well.

"What are you children up to?" she asks.

"We are holding a meeting" Henry says, and Regina smiles fondly at him, her chest burning vaguely with pride, when he sits up and adopts a very serious expression. Emma, on the other hand, rolls her eyes with a smile and mouths 'nerd' playfully.

"Miss Swan, you will not use that word in connection with ou- my son"

Henry grins brightly, and sometimes she really hates how bright he is because her life would be easier if she had a child who was less smart. He is so smart, and he notices so much and it is simultaneously a source of pride and migraines. Now, it's mostly a migraine as his expression just screams he has filed away her slip-up in his mind, underlined it, boldened it and will talk to her about it endlessly.

"What, a nerd? " Emma says, taking another bite of her pancake

"Yes"

She shrugs. " He is, too" Regina glares at her warningly when the woman's slight smile turns into a grin that screams that Regina's authority is going to be undermined again. " The real surprise is that you're the reason why he is such a nerd in the first place"

" Miss Swan- "

"All the threats and formality and business suits can't hide it Regina- " Emma brandishes the spoon like a sword, an uncomfortable reminder for Regina. " You are a giant nerd"

" And you are a child" Regina replies drily, praying Emma doesn't notice how she is different this morning. The woman can understand her annoyingly well however, and the gods have never been as kind as to listen to Regina's prayers, much less answer them.

"Really kid, I still can't believe it "she tells Henry.

Henry quickly swallows. "Can't believe what?"

"That your mother is such a nerd. She does such a good job hiding it" Emma says, with a grin towards Regina. Her favourite current hobby is annoying Regina before she has had her coffee, and keep count of how many 'miss Swan's she gets.

Regina sits down, and sips her coffee. At least Swan was smart enough to make her some, instead of leaving that job to Regina herself and risk mutilation to that gorgeous body of hers.

" I do not hide what I enjoy, none of the townspeople have simply endeared them to me enough to be privy to my – "

Emma rolls her eyes "I wasn't 'privy' to them either. For the first weeks- "

"You were still just an interloper" Regina reminds her

Emma grits her teeth. " We became friends pretty quickly"

"No, we did not"

"Yes, we did! We had lunches together after like, three weeks"

"You barged in on my free time, you mean"

"Moms, can you _not_?"

They both stare at him. Regina's hand drops from where it was reaching for her coffee. Syrup escapes Emma's mouth, and becomes another stain on her tank top ( were Henry and her involved into a food fight, _again_? ).

"Moms?" Emma says, glancing at Regina.

Regina just stares back at her, and arches an eyebrow at Henry. " I thought we had discussed- "

Henry shrugs. "You like her, and she has been around a lot. You can both be my moms. Someone can have two, right?"

Emma chuckles. "Usually a different type of arrangement, kid"

Regina eyes Henry's expression with a fair amount of suspicion, and more wariness. She knows that look. It's his plotting look, the one he uses on his teachers, a seemingly innocent but actual devious one. "What kind?"

Emma looks at Regina again, obviously asking for permission. Regina nods, so she sighs and just says " Well, if the parents love each other"

"But you love each other" he leans in immediately, and Regina rolls her eyes when he whispers "Mom doesn't tell you, but she really does"

"We're friends. Usually, two moms have to be together"

"You are together right now"

"No, I mean- " Emma sighs. " They have to kiss and hold hands, and- stuff"

Regina hides a smirk behind her coffee. It's very obvious to her what kind of 'stuff' Emma is thinking off. She almost cackles when Henry questions 'what kind of stuff?' and Emma becomes adorably awkward and uncomfortable, throwing her a look that screams 'you do something!'

She slowly puts her coffee down. "She is speaking off things that married people do, Henry "

He frowns. "What do they do then?"

" As miss- Emma mentioned before, they hold hands"

"You have held hands"

" Miss Swan had forgotten her gloves"

" You have kissed her"

" Wow, she so hasn't- "

"She has! That time you fell asleep here again, she kissed your forehead"

Regina loves her son, but sometimes she wants to sew his lips shut or vanish his tongue just for a little while. Or maybe use a teensy-tiny memory spell. " Henry- "

Emma looks at her with a soft smile. It's the one that makes Regina feel like a seventeen-year old girl hiding in the stables with Daniel again, _damn_ it. " I thought I dreamed that"

Regina clears her throat. " Henry insisted"

"Mami! Stop lying" Henry immediately scolds, which is ridiculous as she is the adult. And he is just her brilliant, sweet and kind of devious son.

"Io siento, principito"

" So you admit you were kissing me, then? " Emma says and oh _gods_ what has Henry done?

" On the forehead. Because it is an automatic response, after years of raising Henry"

Emma is still looking smug, which has Regina repressing bad, bad ideas.

"So you've held hands, and kissed, which means you've done everything you need to do to be my moms" Henry cuts in, grinning happily

Emma rests her head on the table, and glances at Regina. "Can you explain it to him?"

" Henry, the usual arrangement that leads to a child having two mothers, is those two women being in a romantic relationship"

"Why aren't you?"

"Miss Swan and I are friends- barely friends at that"

"It's because your mom has a sti- " Emma shrugs when Regina glares at her, and amends "Because we're not dating"

" Why aren't you?"

"Because"

"Because we are not, Henry"

"So it means you _can't_ be my moms?"

"No, mijo, we _are_ your mothers. We just are not involved"

Henry frowns, then shrugs. " Okay "

He seems a lot less impressed than Emma, who is swallowing and staring at Regina with this very odd expression. " We are?"

"That is- I thought you wanted that?"

" Yes, I just- yes! Si, Enrique" Emma says, using the Spanish version of Henry's name. He just grins at her, and takes several gargantuan bites before wiping his mouth ( face really, although who knows how he managed to get food on his cheeks as well. Regina suspects the involvement of a certain blonde).

"Okay, so the book" he starts, tapping it where it rests on his lap. " We got to arrange the ball – and maybe you can apologize to Belle, mom. Bring her flowers or something, she really likes those. And there's some other stuff we need to do"

" May I finish breakfast first, king Henry?" Emma says

" Mom is a queen, so I would be a prince" Henry corrects, which makes Regina gaze at him proudly like usual. Emma often jokes that Regina would still be watching with pride if Henry came home 'rocking' a mohawk ( Regina may have overreacted. Slightly. In her defence, she did think Emma was planning to give Henry a mohawk, after the woman explained what it was)

"Fine, your _highness_ "

Regina chuckles. Emma and Henry love teasing each other, and Emma in particular is very good at it. She isn't good with words, with long speeches and even with 'I love you' but she constantly makes sure Regina and Henry know she values them by teasing them, and doing thoughtful things for them.

" No fights, children" she warns.

"Yes, your majesty" Emma grins at her, and Regina has to struggle to keep smiling back. She doesn't like that term. She really does not. Especially not after that dream a few nights back, where-

"Mami?" she focuses on Henry again, who thankfully hasn't noticed anything was wrong. He smiling at her, and she treasures his smiles more than ever after being deprived off them for so long.

"Si, mi cielo?"

" We really have to discuss this. It has to be _perfect_ "

Emma leans in so Henry can't hear her when she whispers. " He got that crazy expression from you – you have it whenever we have work meeting. The perfectionism is so you, too"

She leans back. " Okay Enrique, tell us what we will be doing?"

Dangerous words to say. Very dangerous.

* * *

Somehow, Henry gets his wish

(it has nothing to do with how desperate Regina is to keep him smiling and nothing to do with how Emma has a soft spot for the both of them)

They start planning the ball, which mainly means Henry talks incessantly about costumes and drinks and contests ('there _has_ to be a contest, mom, that's so cool') while Belle comes over to their home, with plans and suggestions and too many smiles while Regina is stuck actually doing things like calculating the costs, calling people and all the practical things. Emma lounges around, teases everyone, and will never shut up about the pictures as well as about costume choices for Regina ( there is one particular awful suggestion that involves dressing up as _Snow White_ and Regina sends her passive-aggressive threats for two weeks until Emma apologizes)

Also, Regina can no longer go anywhere in her home without almost tripping over costume parts or plans. When she goes to the bedroom, there is a small notebook with paintings and notes in Henry's handwriting. Henry's room has basically exploded, cloths and comics and pictures laying everywhere. Her office has Belle's papers with her very beautiful handwriting on it, as well as some of the stuff Henry keeps bringing her. Even her bedroom has some things.

Emma finds this amazing, of course, smirking and rolling her eyes and sharing looks with her. She jokes a lot, nudges Henry and teases him until he scowls and she apologizes. He mostly forgives her because he has picked up on how Emma actually _is_ excited for the ball. Kinda. She scoffs and pretends like she will hate it, but sometimes Regina and Henry catch that excited glint in her eyes and share a fond look.

She's always indulging Henry, going along with his plans and offering suggestions but Regina also notes she has started extensively planning her own costume. Annoyingly, 'MM' (as Emma refers to her sometimes) has insisted on helping, so Emma spends less time with them than Regina would prefer to. (she will still not admit that _she_ was missing Emma, and that's why she invited Mary Margaret to her house for the first time ever)

It's a lot of chaos and work and planning, but somehow, miraculously, Regina is enjoying herself. It has led to nights like this, with Emma sprawled on her couch and Henry sitting on a small pile of pillows on the floor.

"Hey mom, what do you think of Odysseus?" Henry is offering right now, the third or fourth or- Regina kind of lost count of how many suggestions she has heard just this evening.

She arches an eyebrow "He is not my favourite one"

"Yeah, I know. You cry like every time Patrocles dies" Henry mumbles, then perks up. " Hey! I could be Patrocles- and maybe Nick or someone could be Achilles"

" What do you need Achilles for, kid?"

Henry rolls his eyes. "You can't have Patrocles without Achilles Emma, they're like – they're always together, right? And like, Achilles can't be without Patrocles because they're just that important to each other"

He grins at them. " Kind of like you and mom"

Emma snorts "Weren't Patrocles and Achilles like, lovers? Also, neither of us are soldiers kid"

"Yeah, but you could totally be Achilles. You would be all heroic and fighting but also kind of childish. You would totally freak out if mom got hurt, too. And mom could be Patrocles- although she isn't that much like him, I guess, but I dunno- it could still work"

"What, your mom couldn't be Achilles?"

Regina swallows. " I am not a hero"

Henry looks confused. " No, mom- it's just that I can't imagine you as a soldier. And Emma kinda is, because she just to be a bailbonds person, right?"

Something tight and burning loosens in Regina's chest, and she laughs " All right, mijo. That is a good argument"

" I don't know, kid. I can totally imagine your mom being a badass fighter " Emma cuts in, grinning at Regina, who feels an absurd inclination to _giggle_ suddenly. She tampers it down, but she can't hide her pleased smile.

She can't hold back a laugh either, although she is rolling her eyes at the same moment, when Emma adds " Wouldn't mind seeing you in armour, either"

Regina actually has to bite her lip, hard, and her heart hammers when she almost, _almost she is a fool_ , reveals that she had , in fact, once worn armour and actually fought in a war. Fortunately, she has a lifetime of pretending and she can hide that sudden emotions erupting inside her, before she pushes them down " I will not be Achilles, Emma"

" Ugh, why not?"

"Mom also doesn't like him that much"

"What? I thought Achilles was pretty cool"

"It is not that I dislike him " Regina offers

Emma chuckles " Okay, miss picky-much. What hero do you like then?"

"Honestly, I am not a fan of so-called heroes"

"Okay, that's fair. Do you already have ideas for a costume, at least? Because if you aren't going to be one hell of a gender bent Achilles, who will you be?"

Regina smirks " I am still not telling you, miss Swan"

Emma rolls her eyes. "Fine. Keep your secrets, mystery woman"

It's just an innocent comment, one that Emma doesn't mean anything with, Regina _knows_ that. But she thinks of hundreds of hearts in her vault, Emma's long-lost parents not far from here and townspeople with wrong memories and she has to look away. Fortunately, Henry immediately starts talking to distract Emma ( Regina knows he has noticed what happened, and she is thankful and mad at herself at the same time)

" What are you going as, Emma?"

Emma chuckles. " Don't know yet. You had some very good ideas, but – " she shrugs. " It has kind of become a big deal, right?"

Regina slowly looks their way again, because she is _weak_ and can't get her eyes away from them for long. Henry is smiling happily, hugging a pillow and sharing smile with the both of them like it's easy, like he just loves her again. " The town is really excited. I think even Granny is sort of excited about it"

Regina chuckles, but doesn't mention it's probably because Granny will be making money. She has learnt some things, after all.

" Yeah the town is going batshit crazy over this" Emma chuckles. " You should hear MM, she's almost as obsessed at you"

Regina almost makes a face, but keeps her distaste hidden. She is unfailingly polite towards the woman, and she has even invited her to her house again after that first time, but even hearing her name is still something she is far from happy about. Henry throws her a stern look, but he's also smiling. Over the months , he has gone from wary to amused whenever she reacts to the mention of Mary Margaret or the woman herself.

" Like seriously- she is constantly talking about " Emma snorts. " Last week, she wanted to practise dancing with me. Like, not club dancing but dancing like the waltz and that kind of shit"

" Can you, dear?" Regina cuts in, arching an eyebrow at Emma.

"Can I what- dance? Yeah, but not the kind that MM was talking about. I mean, who can?"

Henry almost bounces, and quite possibly hurts his neck when he snaps it to Regina. "Mom! She can dance like that, she could teach you"

Emma looks stunned. " You can waltz?"

"I am a woman of many talents "Regina says, laughing awkwardly. She loves her son dearly, but she wants to ground the smartass for the rest of his childhood right now.

Emma shakes her head. " Nope. I don't even believe it "

Regina narrows her eyes " Miss Swan- "

"There's no way, Regina. Sorry, I don't believe you"

Regina sighs when the music starts playing. Henry, curse (no- ground, she loves him too much for curses ) his scheming ass, had slipped away and quickly found an appropriate song to put on. She slowly rises, holding her hand out to Emma. "I will just have to prove myself then, don't I?"

Emma stares at her hand for several tense seconds before accepting it " Yeah okay"

Regina shows Emma how to do the steps, not really agreeing with Emma when she says she is 'ready' but agreeing if only so she can have the pleasure of getting to tell her 'I told you so ' or at least annoying her with a look.

Regina slowly puts Emma's hand on her shoulder, takes her free hand and finally places her own free hand on Emma's middle. As Regina predicted, Emma fumbles on some of the steps ( there is one particularly embarrassing incident where Emma stumbles and they end up too close and _gods_ Regina's body is a traitorous bitch) but she catches on surprisingly quickly.

She even leads at one point, and Regina feels that giggle again but she pushes it down and rolles her eyes and hides smiles instead when Emma keeps pulling them too close together. They only stop when the song has played about six times, and they're both thirsty.

Emma returns with two glasses, and immediately downs her own. " That was fun" she says, smiling happily and Regina feels so – she can't really describe the feeling, apart from light- that she just returns the smile and doesn't complain when Emma puts the glass down on her table that shouldn't have rings on it.

" Why are you smirking, you- "

"Have you ever slow danced, madam mayor?"

" No" Regina just says, glaring when Emma comes closer

"Because those fancy dances may be cool and all, but knowing how to slow dance is a very important skill"

"No" Regina repeats

"Yes"

" _No_ , Emma"

Emma just grins, and slowly reaches for her hand. Regina doesn't pull away, but does give Emma a look that is clearly meant to mean 'if you even consider it, I will make your life hell'. Except this infuriating woman is far from afraid of her, so she just chuckles and gently pulls her closer.

"Come on. I promise I won't bite" she says, and Regina lets loose a long stream of curses in her head when Emma playfully adds " Unless you want me to"

She gives in, because a traitorous, stupid, weak part of her desperately wants her to. Apparently she is a masochist(then again, she knew that the moment she decided to accept a friendship with _Snow's_ spawn)

And yes it hurts, having Emma be so close and wanting _something_ but it is also wonderful. It is so wonderful that slowly, her tense position relaxes and Emma uses dark magic or some sort of siren power Regina didn't know about and then Regina is suddenly, very carefully lowering her head to rest on Emma's shoulder.

They only let go when Henry gets bored, and demands they teach him as well. Which is still wonderful, and has Regina feeling like _that_ again. She hasn't felt so alive in a long, long time and she enjoys the feeling as long as it lasts.

She is not naïve or stupid enough to believe that that will be a long time.


End file.
